Updated
Updated · CairoScene · May 20
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?