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Dr Ezzat Mustafa to the Mercy of God: a generation in an individual

On Saturday, 23 August 2014, Dr Ezzat Mustafa passed away in Malaysia at the age of 90 years. Dr Mustafa is considered a witness to his times and a true representative of his exceptional generation, who stood fast and rose to the many challenges that faced them. They made great achievements from which the following generations are still reaping the fruits.

Perhaps the most important of these achievements was the founding of the Council of Arab Ministers of Health and the establishment of its executive office, as well as the standardization, Arabization and publishing of medical terminology. It was Dr Ezzat Mustafa and his peers, in their capacities at the Arab Medical Union, who were behind the founding of the Committee for Standardization of Medical Terminology. From their positions within the Council of Arab Ministers of Health, they worked on having the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean entrusted with the responsibility of pursuing work on the Unified Medical Dictionary and constantly updating it. As noted by Dr Mustafa Ezzat in the preface to the first edition, issued in Baghdad in1973, the Unified Medical Dictionary was “a modest step on the path to true Arab unity”. Dr Mustafa and his fellow Arab Health Ministers and members of the Arab Medical Union established the Arab Board of Medical Specializations and set up academic accreditation standards. These efforts also contributed to promoting the use of the Arabic language and its recognition as a working language at the WHO and its Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Dr Mustafa and his fellow Arab Health Ministers exerted sincere efforts to achieve a number of other projects, but time was not enough for these projects to realize the success achieved for others. They are now in the custody of succeeding generations.

Dr Mustafa was born in 1925 in the little town of Anah in Iraq. He graduated from the College of Medicine of Damascus University in 1949. After that he returned to Iraq to serve his country. He was elected head of the Iraqi Medical Syndicate (1968–1977) and shouldered the responsibility of the Ministry of Health in Iraq for over 10 years through two successive governments (1966–1977), where he worked hard and realized important achievements in the development of medical education and health services throughout Iraq, as well as calling back national professionals who were forced to remain outside Iraq.

May Allah bless the soul of Dr Ezzat Mostafa and rest it in paradise.

Dr Mamdouh Gabr

Dr Mamdouh Gabr passed away early on Tuesday 26 August 2014, in Cairo, Egypt, at the age of 87 years, ending a life of great health and societal accomplishments.

Dr Gabr obtained a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery from the College of Medicine, Cairo University in 1947, a diploma in paediatrics in 1950 and a doctorate in paediatrics in 1951. He carried, ever after, the banner of health work which best serves people and communities, at national, regional and global levels.

Perhaps the most important characteristic of Dr Gabr’s life is the fact that it represents a unique case of a firm balance between academic, scientific and fieldwork skills on the one hand, and the “political tasks” and actions dictated by these tasks, especially for one destined to lead the health sector, on the other. During his eventful life, Dr Gabr served as Minister of Health, secretary-general of renowned national health institutions, such as the Medical Syndicate, and was head of several civil society organizations, which witnessed great development under his leadership.

Among the most important posts Dr Gabr held, were Minister of Health (1978–1982), Head of the Medical Syndicate (1984–1992), President of the Higher Population Council (1978–1981) and Secretary-General of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society from 1991 until his death.

Important milestones in Dr Gabr’s life at the international level included his presidency of the African Medical Organization, the International Union of Nutritional Sciences and the International Pediatric Association (1992–1995). He was also a member of the Regional Consultative Committee of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean for three successive decades and President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (1997–2005).

WHO staff will miss Dr Mamdouh Gabr and the high standards which he always strived to maintain in his work.