A global achievement.. Egypt wins the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion

The award comesNelson Mandelato promote health in order to confirm the extent of what the countries of the African continent are providing in order to achieve the third goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): good health and well-being, which is a true standard for the resilience of countries and a measure of their capabilities to protect their development gains in the health sector. Because every investment in health prevention reflects on productivity, social stability, and quality of life, and enhances the ability of institutions for long-term planning.

For all of this, Egypt has tended in recent years to restructure its health system, expand the scope of primary care, and develop monitoring and early response systems, realizing that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) begins with humans, and is based on a health system capable of being proactive, not just reacting.

With these ongoing Egyptian efforts to promote preventive health, the efforts of some medical leaders have emerged that have had a direct impact on the development of the health care system and achieved tangible results on the ground. Among them is Dr. Amr Kandil, “Deputy Minister of Health and Population for Preventive Medicine and Public Health,” who won the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion.

And this global Egyptian achievement is what theThe Earth Guards Foundation sheds light on, while reading its dimensions and manifestations in the Egyptian health sector; So continue reading, and learn with us about this achievement that put Egypt’s name on the global health map.

Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion

The Ministry of Health and Population has announced that Dr. Amr Qandil, “Deputy Minister of Health and Population for Preventive Medicine and Public Health,” has won the Nelson Mandela Prize for Health Promotion for the year 2026, according to what was announced by the Executive Board of the World Health Organization; In recognition of his career spanning more than a quarter of a century in supporting and developing public health systems in Egypt and the region.

This honor through the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion reflects international appreciation for Egyptian leaders who were able to transform health policies into tangible achievements on the ground, by developing vaccination programs, enhancing epidemiological monitoring, and applying innovative methods to prevent diseases, which contributes to protecting society, supporting health and economic stability, and enhancing the country’s ability to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Notable achievements in the preventive medicine system

What highlights the dimensions of this Egyptian coronation with an international award such as the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion is that Dr. Amr Qandil led large-scale efforts that enabled Egypt to obtain international certificates of being free from a number of communicable diseases, including:

• Polio
• German measles
• Trachoma

This is in addition to the announcement of the elimination of malaria, making Egypt the first country in Africa to be free of this disease. Egypt also recorded remarkable progress in controlling the hepatitis B virus among children, and was also the first in the Eastern Mediterranean region in this field.

Dr. Amr Kandil’s efforts extended to developing the digital infrastructure for the preventive sector. It contributed to modernizing quarantine procedures, as well as helping to accredit 129 primary care units, while expanding the application of the treatment system at state expense within 100 health units.

The first Egyptian to win the award

With this award – the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion – Dr. Amr Qandil will be the first Egyptian personality to receive this high international honor, and the award will be officially handed over in May 2026 during the seventy-ninth session of the World Health Assembly, in the presence of the Director-General of the Organization and a representative of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

The victory of the righteous people of Egypt in such international awards in the health sector – such as the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion – reveals a positive indicator of the maturity of the Egyptian health system, and demonstrates its readiness to formulate global experiences in prevention and disease control.

This Egyptian international achievement in winning the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion also highlights the value of proactive planning and the necessity of digital transformation in the health sector. Because they have a direct impact on improving health services and providing resources, which contributes to enhancing social stability in one way or another.

From a future perspective,The Earth Guards Foundationsees this global award as a strong motivation to deepen the country’s investments in preventive health, and to develop training mechanisms and build human capabilities, ensuring the continuation of development gains and protecting society from increasing health challenges.