The UAE has pledged an additional Dh220 million to support the expansion of the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation.
A new medical complex of Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in Cairo will be built and named in honour of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
It will increase the centre's capacity to 120,000 outpatients and allow 12,000 surgeries annually, ultimately serving 132,000 inpatients and outpatients a year.
The funds will “provide a vital lifeline to thousands across the region”, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, said.
An agreement was signed between the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, a charity foundation based in Dubai, and the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation on Tuesday.
“The UAE will provide Dh220 million worth of additional support to the foundation,” Sheikh Hamdan wrote on X, adding that it takes the “total support provided by MBRInitiatives to Dh320 million”.
“Led by Sir Magdi Yacoub, a globally renowned philanthropist and heart surgeon, the foundation’s new hospital project in Cairo will provide care to 130,000 patients each year,” Sheikh Hamdan said.
Spanning about 37 acres, the complex will open on October 6, featuring an additional 300 beds and 36 outpatient clinics. It will offer free cardiovascular care to patients from across the Arab world, with a special focus on treating newborns with congenital heart defects, raising their chances of living healthy lives by 95 per cent.
It aligns with the UAE leadership’s vision and directives to make a tangible difference in people's lives and spread hope, Sheikh Hamdan added.
The Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre aims to triple the number of training graduates to 2,625 healthcare professionals by training 1,750 professionals annually, and will develop the Middle East’s largest dedicated cardiac research and innovation centre.
Mr Yacoub is one of Egypt’s most respected surgeons and launched the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation in 2008 to provide medical services for the country's poor.
The founder of the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation in Egypt and the Chain of Hope charitable organisation in the UK, he was honoured with the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity this year.
Mr Yacoub, a British citizen, has also received numerous honours including a British knighthood and the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the Grand Order of the Nile from Egypt. He has opened cardiac centres in Ethiopia and Mozambique, with a centre in Rwanda's capital Kigali under construction.
Established in 2009 by Mr Yacoub, the Aswan Heart Centre has been a pioneer in offering specialised medical care and heart surgeries free of charge to poor and disadvantaged communities in Egypt and across the region. The medical team operating in the Aswan Heart Centre will soon join the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre in Cairo, in offering free treatment to heart patients.
