Cairo: Arab and Egyptian personalities have pledged millions of dollars in donations to repair a cancer hospital, which was partially damaged by a car bombing in central Cairo.
At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured in the bombing that occurred late Sunday outside the state-run National Cancer Institute, which offers free-of-charge treatment to Egypt’s poor patients.
Several Egyptian TV programmes have since launched initiatives to raise funds for restoring the hospital and boosting its service. Shaikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has donated 50 million Egyptian pounds (Dh11.110 million, show host Emad Adeeb announced on private satellite channel MBC Masr.
Egypt’s soccer star and Liverpool marksman Mohammed Salah offered 3 million dollars in donation for the hospital, said Cairo University, which is in charge of the institute.
Salah is widely popular in Egypt not only for his soccer gifts, but also for his charitable deeds, including donations to hospitals and the poor in his home country.
Egyptian business moguls Hesham Talat Moustafa and Naguib Sawiris, meanwhile, pledged LE10 million and LE1 million respectively in support for the cancer hospital, according to Egyptian media.
Hours after the bombing, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly assigned the Arab Contractors Company, a leading state-run construction firm, to start repairing the Nile-side hospital.
Egypt has accused Hassm, the military arm of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, of standing behind the bombing, the latest in a string of terrorist attacks the country has experienced since the 2013 removal of the Islamist group from power.
