Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population and Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, has urged the international community to translate global commitments on mental health into concrete national actions. He made the call during the opening session of the Sixth Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit, held in Doha under the theme “From Global Commitment to National Action.”
Abdel Ghaffar described the recent UN General Assembly high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health as a “turning point,” noting that for the first time, mental health was explicitly recognised within the NCD agenda as a fundamental pillar of public health and sustainable development.
The minister stressed that the summit’s political declaration highlights the need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, extending beyond healthcare to encompass education, employment, finance, technology, and social protection. He underlined the importance of reshaping health systems to be more equitable and people-centred by strengthening primary care, expanding community-based services, and prioritising prevention and early intervention, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children and young people.
Abdel Ghaffar highlighted Egypt’s progress in mental health integration, including embedding mental health services into primary care, deploying digital tools such as hotlines and telemedicine, and using AI-based applications for early diagnosis. He also pointed to school and university initiatives designed to combat stigma and promote mental well-being among young people. He further noted Egypt’s regional role as host of the Africa CDC’s North Africa Coordination Centre, underlining Cairo’s commitment to advancing both continental and global collaboration on NCDs and mental health.
On the sidelines of the summit, Abdel Ghaffar engaged in a series of high-level meetings aimed at strengthening bilateral and regional healthcare partnerships. In his talks with Pakistan’s Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal, the two sides discussed knowledge exchange on hepatitis C elimination and Egypt’s universal health insurance model. They agreed to launch training programmes and specialised missions to support the development of Pakistan’s healthcare system.
Abdel Ghaffar also met Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nasreddine to explore cooperation in expanding healthcare coverage. Egypt offered to train Lebanese staff on implementing universal health insurance and will host a Lebanese delegation in Cairo to study the system in practice.
Further discussions were held with Qatar’s Minister of Education and Higher Education, Lolwah Al Khater, where both sides explored joint work on school health programmes. The talks focused on early detection of psychological, developmental, and nutritional disorders among children, with an agreement to develop initiatives that integrate mental and physical health into national education strategies.
In another high-level meeting, Abdel Ghaffar met Qatar’s Minister of Public Health, Mansour bin Ibrahim Al Mahmoud, to discuss expanding cooperation in areas such as digital health, preventive medicine, disease surveillance, hospital management, sports medicine, medical simulation, and precision diagnostics. The talks also covered humanitarian support for Gaza’s health sector and reaffirmed the importance of a memorandum of understanding that aims to advance digital transformation and crisis management capacities.
Abdel Ghaffar concluded by expressing Egypt’s appreciation for Qatar’s support in strengthening regional health systems. He underscored that Egyptian-Qatari collaboration represents a cornerstone for achieving sustainable health development, not only for the two nations but also for the wider region.
