Breaking Ground for Egypt's Children : Ayesh Hospital Phase 1 Construction Campaign
The plans are done. The land is secured. The approvals are in hand. Now it's time to build.
This campaign funds Phase 1 of the new Ayesh Pediatric Heart Surgery Hospital — the foundational stage that sets everything in motion. The $3 million target covers four essential works to be completed in Year 1:
- Excavation of the 20,000 m² site
- Structural foundations of the hospital
- Perimeter fence to secure the construction site
- Service building to support ongoing operations
No other phase can begin without Phase 1 being complete. This is where the hospital goes from paper to ground — and from ground to the future of thousands of children who are waiting for surgery today.
Phase 1 donors will be recognized as the founding contributors of this hospital. Your name, your organization, or your family's legacy can be permanently associated with a facility that will serve Egypt's children for generations to come.
Fund the foundation. Change the future.
About the Associated Project
Expansion of Ayesh Children's Heart Surgery Hospital — Building a Future for Egypt's Children
The Crisis We Are Solving
Every year in Egypt, approximately 15,000 children are born with congenital heart defects that require medical intervention. Yet the entire Egyptian healthcare system can only accommodate around 7,000 surgeries annually — leaving thousands of children without access to the life-saving care they desperately need. Many of these children come from low-income families who cannot afford treatment at private facilities or travel abroad. Without urgent action, these children face a grim future — not because medicine cannot save them, but because the infrastructure to do so does not yet exist at the necessary scale.
This is the crisis that Ayesh Children's Heart Surgery Hospital was built to solve, and this is the mission your contribution will help us fulfill.
Who We Are — A Proven Institution with a 30-Year Track Record
The Ayesh Association was established in 1994 by Ministerial Resolution No. 762/1994 of the Arab Republic of Egypt, making it one of Egypt's most longstanding and credible humanitarian organizations. Today, the Association's revenues reach $12 million USD annually, funding wide-ranging social programs including education, housing, orphan care, and healthcare.
Ayesh Hospital for Pediatric Cardiac Surgery was founded in 2015 from a collective vision shared by specialists and philanthropists originating in the Dakahlia Governorate. Since its very first day of operation, the hospital has stood apart from other charitable healthcare institutions in one critical way: it has never depended on external donations to fund its day-to-day operations. Instead, Ayesh Hospital achieved full financial sustainability through the revenue generated from its own medical services — a model that ensures continuity of care regardless of donation cycles.
Since 2015, Ayesh Hospital has successfully treated approximately 1,500 children with congenital heart defects, including highly complex and high-risk cases, achieving success rates that surpass international benchmarks. This proven track record of clinical excellence, combined with full operational self-sufficiency, makes Ayesh Hospital a uniquely credible and low-risk investment for donors and partner institutions.
Why Expansion Is Urgently Needed
The hospital has now reached its maximum operational capacity. Every day, children who need surgery cannot be admitted. Every week, families who have traveled from across Egypt are turned away. The demand for pediatric cardiac surgery in Egypt far exceeds what Ayesh — or any existing institution — can currently provide.
Today, Ayesh performs approximately 400 surgeries per year. The expansion project is designed to increase that number to 2,000 surgeries annually — a fivefold increase that will transform the landscape of pediatric cardiac care in Egypt and across the region.
In 2022, the Egyptian Government took a decisive step to support this mission by allocating a 20,000 m² plot of land in a prime location in 10th of Ramadan City to the Ayesh Association at a highly nominal price — a sovereign endorsement of the project's national importance. The market value of this land is estimated at approximately USD 15 million, representing a substantial in-kind contribution that de-risks the project from the outset.
The New Hospital — World-Class Facilities Designed for Excellence
The new Ayesh Hospital will be built on the 20,000 m² site in 10th of Ramadan City, utilizing 27% of the land for the hospital buildings with the remainder reserved for future expansions. The facility has been meticulously designed to deliver the highest standard of pediatric cardiac care and will include:
- 155 hospital beds, with 40% allocated to inpatient wards and 60% to intensive care units
- 3 fully equipped operating rooms, including one state-of-the-art hybrid operating room
- An outpatient department housing 20 specialized clinics
- A radiology and diagnostic center equipped with MRI, CT scan, echocardiography, and gamma camera imaging
- A fully equipped emergency unit available around the clock
- A scientific research center dedicated to advancing pediatric cardiac medicine
- A training and knowledge center to develop the next generation of cardiac surgeons and medical professionals
The hospital's location near Cairo makes it accessible to patients from the capital and surrounding governorates, with complimentary shuttle bus services provided to patients and their families. This strategic positioning also attracts leading medical professionals and places the hospital within one of Egypt's most significant medical hubs.
The conceptual design for the hospital has been substantially completed, with approximately 70% of the design scope supported as an in-kind contribution by the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) in New Delhi, India — one of Asia's most prestigious academic architecture institutions. The estimated market value of the full design package is approximately USD 500,000, of which Ayesh has paid USD 143,373, with the remaining value contributed pro-bono.
The Funding Plan — Phased, Transparent, and Accountable
The total capital requirement for the construction of the new hospital is USD 17.5 million, structured across three clearly defined phases to allow donors and institutions to participate at different stages and ticket sizes:
Phase 1 — $3 Million (approx. EGP 130 Million) Covering excavation works, foundations, construction of the perimeter fence and service building. Timeline: Year 1.
Phase 2 — $3.5 Million (approx. EGP 159 Million) Covering the completion of remaining civil works, masonry, finishing, and installation of air conditioning and electrical systems for the main building. Timeline: Year 2.
Phase 3 — $11 Million (approx. EGP 538 Million) Covering finalization of the main and service buildings, HVAC and electrical installations, facade work, landscaping, and the procurement of specialized medical equipment on long-term lease. Timeline: Year 3.
What makes this project exceptionally ready for funding is that significant groundwork has already been completed:
- Government land secured (market value ~USD 15M)
- Construction licensing and permits fast-tracked with government support
- USD 380,000 already paid toward land installments
- USD 145,000 already paid toward architectural design
- Conceptual design substantially complete (~70% in-kind by SPA New Delhi)
This means donors are funding execution and construction — not feasibility studies or early-stage planning. The project is ready to break ground.
World-Class Governance — An International Board of Trustees
To ensure the highest standards of clinical oversight and global accountability, a distinguished International Board of Trustees has been established, comprising some of the world's leading pediatric cardiac surgeons:
- Prof. Dr. Zuhair Al-Halees — Director, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Prof. Dr. Hani Najm — Professor & Chair, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA
- Prof. Dr. Ghada Shaheen — Professor & Consultant in Robotic Cardiopulmonary Surgery, Netherlands
- Prof. Dr. Frank Edwin — Professor of Cardiac Surgery & Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Ghana
- Prof. Dr. James Lewis — Professor & Chair, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, University of Georgia, Augusta, USA
- Prof. Dr. Angela — Chair, Cardiac Surgery Department, Dar es Salaam Hospital, Tanzania
- Prof. Dr. Amit Mishra — Head, Congenital Heart Defect Surgery, Mehta Heart Institute, Ahmedabad, India
This global clinical leadership panel strengthens medical credibility, supports knowledge exchange, and positions the hospital for international partnerships, research collaborations, and specialist training programs.
Strategic Partners & Institutional Supporters
Ayesh Hospital is not building this vision alone. A network of recognized regional and international institutions has already expressed support and engagement, including:
Dar Al Ber Society, Dubai Charity Organization, Sharjah Charitable Association, Dubai Islamic Bank, Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, Embassy of the UAE in Cairo, and the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
These partnerships signal strong institutional confidence and demonstrate that this project has already earned the trust of credible organizations across the Arab world and beyond.
Our Vision — Egypt, Then the Region
The long-term vision for Ayesh Hospital extends well beyond the borders of a single facility. Once the expansion is complete, plans are in progress to extend services to additional childhood diseases, and to establish Ayesh Hospital branches in various locations within Egypt and across the wider Middle East region. The goal is for Ayesh to become the premier institution for pediatric cardiac care in Egypt and the Middle East — a center of excellence, training, and innovation that serves future generations.
How You Can Help
Whether you are an individual donor moved by the story of a child waiting for surgery, or an institution looking for a high-impact, credible, and shovel-ready humanitarian project — there is a place for you in this mission.
Every contribution, at any level, brings us closer to the moment when no child in Egypt is turned away for lack of surgical capacity. You can support a full construction phase, sponsor a named operating room or ICU unit, contribute medical equipment, or simply donate what you can.
Together, we are not just building a hospital. We are building a future for the children of Egypt.
Ayesh Association — Est. 1994 | info@ayesh.org | +20 2 22719240 | www.ayesh.org 54 Mohamed El Nady Street, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt