Written by: Badr Ahmed
The World Health Organization honored Dr. Heba El-Sweidi, founder and chair of the board of trustees of the Ahl Masr Foundation and Hospital for Burn Treatment, by awarding her the Director-General’s Award in recognition of her career and efforts in caring for and treating burn patients, during the opening of the 79th session of the World Health Assembly held at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva.
The ceremony was attended by a number of officials and representatives of countries, including Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, along with members of the World Health Organization Council and heads of international delegations participating in the annual meetings.
According to a statement issued by the administration of Ahl Masr Hospital, this honor reflects the qualitative leap achieved by the institution in the field of burn treatment in Egypt, as it succeeded in less than two years in raising the survival rates of critical cases from 20% to 84%, and reducing the rates of permanent disability resulting from burns from 18% to 10%, in addition to performing the first natural donor skin transplant operations in Egypt.
The World Health Organization's recognition is a message of hope for every burn survivor.
Dr. Heba El-Swaidy, commenting on the honor, said that the award represents an appreciation of the journey of the Ahl Masr Foundation and its medical and humanitarian team, stressing that this honor is not for one person, but for every burn patient who resisted the pain and clung to life, and for every survivor who decided to start anew despite the pain. .
She added that the foundation has succeeded in providing care to more than 20,000 burn patients, including infants, as well as empowering and employing 100 burn survivors, completing the education of a number of children, and bringing 30 people out of illiteracy, within the framework of a comprehensive vision that is not limited to treatment only, but extends to rehabilitation and psychological and social support.
Al-Suwaidi noted that the foundation is currently working in cooperation with the World Health Organization and the Egyptian Ministry of Health to prepare the first national guidelines for burn treatment, and the first national strategy for burns in Egypt, as well as establishing a telemedicine system for burn patients, and seeking to accredit Ahl Masr Hospital as the first center cooperating with the World Health Organization in the field of burn care, training and scientific research.
