Under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the 2nd “Africa Health ExCon” 2023 is held at Al Manara International Conference Center in New Cairo on June 6-9, under the theme: "Placing Africa as a continental hub for health innovation and trade."

The event is organized by the Egyptian Unified Procurement Authority (UPA) and the Arab Hospitals Federation, with the participation of healthcare stakeholders from government institutions and major international companies interested in investing in the health sector in Africa.

Africa Health ExCon, the largest annual Medical Exhibition and conference in Africa, was established to be the continental hub of health innovation and trade in Africa and Middle East.

The conference and exhibition provide an opportunity for international and African companies working in the health and pharma business to meet together on an annual basis.

The event also aims to attract medical investments in the fields of healthcare and create competitiveness among major health companies to compete in Africa.

More than 1,200 speakers representing more than 90 countries are taking part in the conference.

The conference’s activities, also, include various sessions that will review steps to increase Africa’s capacity towards manufacturing vaccines and medicines.

More than 316 sessions and 36 workshops will be held as part of the conference’s activities, with the participation of international experts.

Activities

6-6-2023

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the 2nd edition of Africa Health Excon 2023

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi arrived on Tuesday at EL Manara International Conference Center to attend the opening of the second “Africa Health ExCon”, the biggest medical exhibition and conference on the continent, which is held on June 6-9.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrived, on Tuesday 6-6-2023, at EL Manara International Conference Center to attend the opening of the second edition of Africa Health ExCon”, the biggest medical exhibition and conference on the continent, which is held in Cairo on June 6-9, under the theme “Your Gate to Innovation and Trade.”

The inauguration ceremony was attended by several Egyptian and African high-level officials, including Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, and other senior figures from the Egyptian side.

Addressing the conference, Head of the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement, Medical Supply and Technology Management (AUPP) Bahaa El Din Zidan said the second Africa Health ExCon conference is a gathering for all experts of the medical field from the various world countries to exchange expertise, clinching deals and get briefed on the latest developments in the field.

He said President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's sponsorship of the conference played a big role in rendering it a success, a matter which had an impact on expanding cooperation among African states in the medical field.

Following his word, a documentary film was screened on the importance of investment in Africa which possesses great fortune, variety of resources as well as vast areas of fertile lands, making it a promising market for investment.

The film also depicted the challenges facing the African continent which lead to impeding its efforts for achieving comprehensive and sustainable development plans.

Addressing the attendees, Director of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (AfricaCDC) Jean Kaseya voiced confidence in his authority's potentials in the medical field as well as Egypt's big role in bolstering ties with Africa in this regard.

He underlined the importance of such medical conferences especially after the great suffering of people during the coronavirus pandemic which left millions of people dead.

Kaseya extended thanks to President El-Sisi and the Egyptian government for organizing the second edition of the conference and its great interest given to the medical sector in Africa.

He expressed gratitude to Egypt for its contributions to healthcare in Africa and praised global solidarity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kaseya said that this ExCon aims to create a sustainable platform connecting the world healthcare buyers and suppliers under one common roof, giving the chance for all healthcare partners to interact together as well as supporting the flow of trade business.

He added that the event also aims to attract medical investments in the fields of health and create competitiveness among major health companies to compete in Africa.

He highlighted that the conference represents a great opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge in the field of health care.

For his part, Egypt’s health minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar delivered a speech during the opening of the Second edition of the Africa Health ExCon, in which he affirmed that the development of the health sector is among the priorities of the Egyptian state, which was evident in the increase in the volume of government spending on the health sector to EGP 222bn, compared to EGP 32bn in 2014.

Abdel Ghaffar referred to the ministry’s strategy to develop the health system, which relied on 3 axes (infrastructure development, development of health services, and investment in the human element), explaining that the first axis included the establishment and development of hospitals, medical centres and specialized health units, and the localization of the pharmaceutical industry. 

The minister pointed out that the President of the Republic ratified the establishment of the new National Heart Institute with a capacity of 490 beds, at a cost of EGP 3bn, in addition to the construction of the new central laboratories building, at a cost of EGP 1.3bn, and the city of psychiatry and addiction treatment and geriatric medicine, with a total capacity of 950 beds, on an area of 50 feddan, at a cost of EGP 5bn, in addition to Umm El-Masryeen Hospital, which is the first hospital to support green building in Egypt, at a cost of EGP 3.8bn.

Moreover, the minister pointed out that a number of questions were asked on search platforms that rely on artificial intelligence (Chat GPT), which collects its information from all international institutions and sources, explaining that the answers indicated an improvement in the environmental and living conditions of the Egyptian citizen through a package of projects that have been implemented since 2014 until now. 

He further added that the population increase is the greatest challenge not only in the health sector but for all sectors, as the population census on 1st June reached 105 million people, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, indicating that the health sector bears a significant burden in terms of population increase, in addition to the burden of health services and the provision of treatment for unhealthy children.

Abdel-Ghaffar said: “We have a child born every 15 seconds and four children born every minute,” explaining that some children suffer from malnutrition and genetic diseases.

President El-Sisi commented affirming that Egypt is committed to playing a positive role in the healthcare sector in Egypt and Africa, as it has done since the first edition of Africa Health ExCon last year.

El-Sisi acknowledged that COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerability of healthcare systems in African countries, but emphasized that cooperation and coordination between nations can enhance their healthcare capabilities.

The president highlighted Egypt's healthcare initiatives and achievements, including the successful campaign to eliminate hepatitis C.

El-Sisi stressed: “We have targeted this disease that had a major negative impact on Egyptians,” noting Egypt's upcoming achievement and celebration of becoming hepatitis C-free in a few weeks, meeting the standards set by the World Health Organization.

El-Sisi mourned the death of former Egyptian Health Minister Ahmed Emad El-Din, who passed away on Monday evening, hailing his "great contribution" to the health sector.

President El-Sisi concluded his word, expressing his welcome to the attendees, wishing them a good stay and good activities, inviting them to visit the various tourist destinations in Egypt.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi inspected the pavilions of the African Medical Exhibition in its second edition, which includes a number of companies working in the various fields of the medical industry.

President El-Sisi listened to a detailed explanation from the exhibition organizers about the nature of the various industries.