As a Professor of Public Health at Cairo University, the former Minister of Health and Population for Egypt, and one of WHO Director- General’s Special Envoys on COVID -19, Professor Dr. Maha El Rabbat has had an accomplished and varied career. Responsibility clearly energizes Dr. El Rabbat and allows her to follow her calling to improve the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable and marginalized.
Growing up, Dr. El Rabbat was influenced by her surroundings, her family, and professors; it was their commitment to serving people’s needs that appealed to her. She is keen to give her parents credit for the way they instilled in her the need for passion and purpose in whatever work she undertook. “No matter what I was doing, it was important to them that I was passionate and committed to learn, gain experience and come to excel .”
Throughout her career, she has advocated for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and stressed the importance of fairness. “Achieving UHC, with its universal focus, is important from a development, a human rights, and a fairness perspective in meeting people’s health needs. Low- and middle-income countries need to reach a stage where they are near to an equal footing with the rest of the world.”
Her nomination as Minister of Health and Population in Egypt, she says, was both a privilege, an honor and a turning point in her career. Another key milestone has been her opportunity to serve as one of WHO DG Special Envoys on COVID-19. “I felt like all the prior experiences I had gained throughout my career had led me to this point. The pandemic brought a lot of uncertainty and loss, but it allowed those of us dedicated to public health to sharpen our perspectives and renew our commitment to the goal of better health for everyone.”
Dr. El Rabbat is a strong proponent of community- led decision-making in health. Though such mandates exist for national governing bodies and at global level, she highlights the gap in that representation at grassroots level. “Real participation in decision-making and hands-on implementation by communities is needed. The more vulnerable they are, the more they need to be represented. Two- way communication is thus very important. Everyone has the right to understand and communicate and to be part of the process and responsible for the outcome. We have to have the same vision to make this a reality.”
Her aspiration for the future is to ensure strong multi- sectoral cooperation and alignment on health programs that tackle the vulnerabilities inherent in the determinants of health. “It is so evident how poverty, education, food, water, environment, job status, marriage status, and others–how all of these factors affect health. To work to improve quality of life, we need to tackle these issues to plan for the future we aspire to.”
Dr. El Rabbat is clear about the type of vision that will help support the pathway to UHC. “Contextualization is very important at this point to move forward. We have to put greater emphasis on the roles played by health care workers and community health workers, especially women, in building the resilience of health systems, and the empowerment of communities. Putting health workers at the center of health system investment and investing more in their training, in positioning them into systems, in building their capacities and capabilities, in their safety, is vital work.”
“The pandemic has shown us what works in terms of saving lives and building resilience. Leadership and political commitment are key to advancement as shown in public health initiatives and the solidarity and unity we saw during the response to the pandemic.”
