Egypt launches accreditation standards for mother and child friendly health facilities

Egypt's Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, has launched new accreditation standards for “Mother and Child Friendly” healthcare facilities. Developed in collaboration with the General Authority for Healthcare Accreditation and Regulation (GAHAR), UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the World Food Programme, the initiative aims to elevate the quality and safety of maternal and neonatal care.

The standards focus on an integrated care pathway that begins before birth and extends through the postpartum period. Key clinical practices encouraged by the new framework include promoting safe natural births, ensuring direct skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery, reducing unnecessary medical interventions, and supporting breastfeeding.

Dr. Ahmed Taha, President of GAHAR, noted that the initiative seeks to transform these standards from theoretical concepts into measurable institutional models. The move comes in response to global statistics indicating that approximately 260,000 mothers and 2.3 million infants die annually due to preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications.