WHO Honors Heba El Sewedy as Ahl Masr Burn Survival Rate Reaches 84%
Updated
Updated · CairoScene · May 20
WHO Honors Heba El Sewedy as Ahl Masr Burn Survival Rate Reaches 84%
6 articles · Updated · CairoScene · May 20
Geneva's 79th World Health Assembly gave Heba El Sewedy the WHO Director-General’s Award for building Egypt’s burn-care model through Ahl Masr Foundation and Burn Hospital.
WHO said the institution raised survival among critical burn patients to 84% from 20% and cut permanent disability from burn injuries to about 10%.
The 60-bed hospital, opened in 2024, is described as the first and largest free specialized burn-treatment facility in Africa and the Middle East, and the first in Egypt to perform natural skin grafts for burn patients.
Ahl Masr is now working with Egypt’s Health Ministry on a telemedicine model to extend specialized burn care across governorates and on a 10-year national strategy for burn treatment, prevention and rehabilitation.
Beyond awards, how can prize-winning health models from Mali or Thailand be adapted for struggling systems worldwide?
Do celebrating individual health 'heroes' distract from the urgent need to fix broken health systems on a global scale?
As 'smart hospitals' for the elderly advance, how can we prevent the most vulnerable from being left further behind?