DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 27th Feb, 2021) The Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives (MBRGI) has announced the completion of the first phase of the 22,000 square metre Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
The new heart center in Egypt will expand access to world-class treatment among vulnerable communities through a fully-equipped facility offering the latest research and surgical technologies and qualified medical cadres. The new facility will provide free-of-charge cardiovascular care to patients from throughout the Arab world.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, honoured the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre as the Arab Hope Makers’ Humanitarian Cause of the Year during the final ceremony that crowned Arab Hope Makers in February 2020. Sheikh Mohammed announced that donations totaling EGP 360 million have been raised for the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Center in Egypt. Also, for the first time since its inception, the proceeds of the Arab Hope Makers show were allocated to support the construction of the center to provide free-of-charge cardiac care to less fortunate communities across the Arab world.
Egyptian-British Dr. Magdi Yacoub is one of the world's most respected cardiac surgeons, having performed more than 40,000 open heart surgeries and conducted over 2,000 heart transplants.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid honored Dr. Yacoub with the Scarf of Mohammed bin Rashid for Humanitarian Action for his charitable efforts and medical and scientific achievements for over 50 years.
Once completed in 2023, the centre will conduct 12,000 heart surgeries annually, of which 60 percent will target children. Its clinics will also receive over 120,000 patients annually and train over 1,500 cardiologists and cardiac surgeons through the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation. It will also conduct advance research on cardiac diseases.
Commenting on the completion of phase one of the centre, Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi, Secretary General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, said, "The completion of an important stage of the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre project is a promising glimmer of hope for heart patients, especially children, and for the medical scientific research community in the Arab world."
He noted that the keenness to institutionalise charitable work and support projects with a broad and sustainable impact on societies has an entrenched value in the humanitarian initiatives of the UAE.
"Conscious and continuous investment in empowering people, preserving their lives and respecting their dignity, is the humanitarian vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is sponsoring and pursuing it to grow and maximise its impact so as to make a positive qualitative difference in the lives of individuals and societies," he added.
