Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Mashally.. Egypt's 'Doctor of the Poor' Laid to Rest


Tue 28 Jul 2020 | 08:21 AM
Yassmine Elsayed

This morning, it was announced that Dr. Mohamed Mashally, who was widely known as 'Doctor of the Poor' has died at age 76, prompting sadness and posts of mourning widely circulated the social networks.

Dr. Mashally was born in the village of Dhahr Al Temsah, in Beheira Governorate, to a father who worked as a teacher and then moved to Gharbia Governorate where he settled with his family there.

The late doctor graduated from Qasr Al-Aini Faculty of Medicine, specializing in internal medicine, pediatrics and fevers.

In 1975 he opened his private clinic in Tanta, and for many years he set the value of his clinic fee at only 5 pounds (less than $0.3) increased lately to 10 pounds ($0.6), and often refused to receive the fees from poor patients, and he even bought them treatment often, until he became famous with 'The Doctor of the poor'.

He was appointed to the rural health sector in Gharbia Governorate, and moved between rural units, and he was promoted to the position of Director of the Endemic Diseases Hospital, then Director of Said Medical Center until he reached the legal age of the pension in 2004.

Dr. Mashally apologized for accepting a large donation, having a new clinic in the most famous streets of Tanta, but he only accepted a medical stethoscope worth 80 pounds as a donation from a young donor from UAE.

In a press interview after, Dr. Mashally said: I am a doctor who grew up in a humble house, and graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Al-Kasr Al-Aini in 1967", stressing that he devoted his knowledge to help the poor; the patient pays a very symbolic fee.

He gave treatment to millions of Egyptians who cannot afford medication expenses.

"Just as my father, on his deathbed, advised good things to the poor, and to the sick of the poor," he noted.

The Doctor of the poor cried when he recalled the fact that he was assigned to a health unit in a poor area, saying: "A young child with diabetes came to me crying in pain and saying to his mother, give me the insulin syringe, but she replied: If I bought the insulin syringe, we will not be able to buy food for the rest of your siblings.. and I still remember this difficult situation, which made me donate my knowledge to help the poor.

Dr. Mashally stressed that his clinic fee is 5 pounds and sometimes he does not accept the fee from the patients who are unable and even provided them with medicines.