Egypt’s deputy minister of health for preventive medicine and public health, Amr Kandil, has been awarded the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion for 2026, becoming the first Egyptian to receive the honor, the Ministry of Health and Population announced on Sunday, 8 February. The award, granted by the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO), recognizes Kandil’s contributions over more than 25 years to public health in Egypt and the wider region. He is scheduled to receive the prize in May 2026 during the plenary session of the 79th World Health Assembly, in the presence of the WHO director general and a representative of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Established in 2019 to mark the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, the award is presented annually to individuals whose work has had a measurable impact on improving community health. According to the ministry, Kandil has played a leading role in advancing Egypt’s preventive health system. His work has included overseeing efforts that led to WHO certifications declaring Egypt free of polio, measles, rubella, and trachoma, as well as the elimination of malaria, making it the first African country to achieve…
