Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population, welcomed Mr. Yves Sassenrath, UNFPA Representative in Egypt and Assistant Representative Germaine Haddad, on September 18, at the Ministry's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital.

Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the Ministry of Health and Population spokesperson, said that the Minister congratulated the UNFPA representative on his new position, highlighting the importance of enhancing fruitful cooperation between UNFPA and the Ministry to enhance the health sector in Egypt.

Dr. Abdel Ghaffar added that the meeting tackled current prospects for joint cooperation and expansion of plans and programs, most notably in primary health care and enhancing reproductive health in Egypt.

UNFPA presented the proposed action plan for cooperation within the presidential initiative for human development "Bedaya," in various health fields, including family planning and promoting reproductive health, where the Minister stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation, as improving public health is an integral part of the goals of human development, through building the capacity of medical service providers and improving various health services.

On his part, Mr. Yves Sassenrath, UNFPA Representative in Egypt, reiterated his keenness to enhance joint cooperation with the Ministry during the coming period, and underlined UNFPA’s support for various projects related to health and population issues.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Abla Al-Alfi, Deputy Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Amr Kandil, Deputy Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Amr Hassan, Minister's Advisor for Population and Family Development Affairs, and Dr. Rasha Khader, Acting Head of the Primary Health Care and Family Development Sector.