Sir Aly Tewfik Shousha, Pasha (; 17 August 1891 – 31 May 1964) was an Egyptian doctor and a founding member of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

Early life and education

Aly Tewfik Shousha was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, on 17 August 1891. He graduated from the School of Medicine,

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

in 1915, and specialized in the study of bacteriology at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. He later became an assistant at the Hygienische Institute in Zurich (1916–1917).

Career

Shousha returned to Egypt to serve as a bacteriologist in 1924, before he served as a Director of Laboratories of the Ministry of Public Health in 1930.Le Mondain Egyptien (The Egyptian Who is Who). F. E. Noury et Fils, Cairo, 1939 He then became the

Undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

of the Ministry of Health in 1939. On 1 July 1949, he became the first Regional Director of the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the

(WHO) at its inception. He was also one of WHO's founding members and the Chairman of the Executive Board of WHO. Shousha published many articles on

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

, including

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

. He contributed to the editing of the facilitated

Arabic Encyclopedia This is a list of encyclopedias in the Arabic language. History The Arabic word for encyclopedia is ''mawsūʿah'' (موسوعة). It is derived from the word ''wāsiʿ'' (واسع), which means "wide". The early Arabic compilations of knowledg ...

, and was elected to the

Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo The Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo () is a language academy for Arabic created in Cairo, Egypt in 1932 by Fuad I of Egypt. It publishes Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (''The Great Dictionary'') and (''The Intermediary Dictionary''), two of the most i ...

in 1942.مجمع اللغة العربية بالقاهرة
أعضاء المجمع السابقون

Death

Shousha died on 31 May 1964, aged 72, while he was attending the WHO Executive Board meeting in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. He was attending as a representative of the

League of Arab States League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

, whose health activities he directed.

Awards and honours

Shousha's many decorations include

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

in 1936, the US Typhus Commission Medal in 1944, Order of Pashwiya on 26 April 1945, and Commander and then Knight of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1948. A street in

Nasr City Nasr City ( ar, مدينة نصر ) is a district of Cairo, Egypt. It is located to the east of the Cairo Governorate and consists mostly of condominia. It was established in the 1960s as an extension to neighboring settlement of Heliopo ...

, Cairo, was named after him. In 1966, the ninth

World Health Assembly The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states. T ...

established a foundation to honour his memory as one of the World Health Organization founders and first WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. The foundation's purpose is to award a prize known as the Shousha Prize, which is given to a person who made the most significant contribution to any health problem in the geographical area in which Dr Shousha served the WHO. The foundation also gives a fellowship every six years that amounts to US$15,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shousha, Aly Tewfik 1891 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Egyptian physicians Egyptian pashas Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Zurich alumni Members of Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire