WATANI International
9 October 2011
Ibrahim al-Kerdany talks to Watani
Ibrahim al-Kerdany was for years one of the most familiar figures to TV viewers. During the 1980s he presented the English news bulletin on Egyptian State TV, as well as an English learning programme aimed at Secondary school students. He is best remembered for his sunny smile and vivacious demeanour which particularly endeared him to viewers.
It is now several years since Dr Kerdany was regularly on TV, but he has never been forgotten. Just the mention of his name will bring smiles to faces, provided of course they are over 30. However, Dr Kerdany has not been in the meantime idle. Among other tasks, he was the very active media officer of the World Health Organisation in Egypt.
Watani spoke recently to Ibrahim al-Kerdany.
Can you give our readers an idea of how your life has mapped out, and what you feel to be your greatest achievements?
I should like to identify myself as a human being with feelings for everyone. I am a doctor by profession, and a media person by love, and hopefully talent. I like to think of myself as a communicator—especially to reach those in need.
My father was a surgeon, my mother of Turkish descent, a very beautiful lady who already had five daughters when my father married her, and then had three of us—myself, my brother and my youngest sister. I myself married twice.
My father’s influence was profound. He wanted me to be a doctor, but he always encouraged me to write, act and direct and was the first to attend the plays I produced while I was at university—from William Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams.
Although my first love was art, I studied medicine for my father’s sake, and somehow ended up as a professor of Mental Health at Alexandria University.
After I left my first wife, I needed a change. UNICEF was looking for staff, and my professor, Dr Sherbini, nominated me. I was interviewed and chosen.
In 1984 I moved to Cairo—what a change from my hometown of Alexandria! I worked with UNICEF as head of the health and nutrition section in Egypt. I stayed there until 2000, so I consider myself to have been responsible for the immunisation of every child in Egypt at the time.
While yet at UNICEF I decided to set out to try my luck on the media. My father had died, and I had done what he wanted: I had become a doctor and had two Masters degrees and a PhD. It was time for me. I knocked the door of the European programme on Radio Cairo—I was too ‘chicken’ to try TV. For nine gruelling months I learnt how to edit the English news bulletin, and then I was interviewed.
So you managed to lead two careers which apparently have nothing in common. How did you manage on TV?
On the day of the interview, I went home and cried. I was sure I’d failed. Then the phone rang, and I was told that I had ranked first among the competitors! In 1985, I appeared on Egyptian TV.
I always smiled—maybe because I was shy—but my smile became famous. In 1985 I started presenting Egyptian Panorama on Channel 3, and continued to do so for 16 years, during which I introduced public figures from all over the world, including singers like Sabah, Farid al-Atrash and Abdel-Halim Hafez, as well as politicians. The aim of the programme was to convey to viewers that Egypt absorbed all religions and nationalities, away from the spirit of fanaticism. Human thought should override the borders of time and place; we should all be international citizens.
“Then in 1994 came my big breakthrough with the Arabic programme Sabah al-Kheir Ya Masr (Good Morning, Egypt), which I presented until 2000, and which made me the most popular presenter at the time, according to a TV poll. All the presenters at that time used to wear a suit and tie, and I was the only one who broke away with the tradition. I wore casual clothes, and the viewers liked it.
But I must admit that what stayed with the public was my smiling “Hello!”; my Thanawiya Amma (Secondary School certificate) teaching; and my English language programme.
From 2000 to 2003, I worked with UNAID and UNICEF in Saudi Arabia. I also worked with UNDP, the Ford Foundation, and Johns Hopkins.University. I covered 26 African countries with Rotary International, promoting AIDS prevention.
While in Saudi Arabia, I got a call from the World Health Organisation to say they had a job for me as spokesperson and regional press administrator. It was the chance of a lifetime, so I came back. You can visit Ibrahim al-Kerdany on Facebook and follow my work with this wonderful organisation; I partnered the WHO with the media, especially when H5N1, H1N1 and AIDS were hitting the world, understanding their needs and doing my best to bridge the gap between the media and health professionals.
Would you please elaborate on WHO’s work in the region, which is given high prominence?
WHO has six offices throughout the world. Egypt is affiliated to the Middle East office, which is in Cairo. Even though the region includes 22 countries, they are all different and have divergent needs. The Gulf countries, for instance, are rich and can spend generously on health care, while some countries such as Yemen and Somalia have serious financial and health problems.
People sometimes feel that the issue of health is being politicised, and while at WHO you must have been in the perfect position to see how true this is. WHO is frequently accused of not being fair in allocating health services to the various countries.
This isn’t so. In the case of Bird Flu for instance, there was much ado about the non-availability of Tamiflu in poorer countries while they were the ones who most needed it and could ill-afford its cost. But the fact is that once there was an abundance of Tamiflu production, WHO bought large quantities of it and provided it to the countries most in need.
Another field in which WHO is active is that of nursing. Egyptian nurses need training, but first I think they rather need better living conditions in order for them to stay at home and serve the Egyptian public instead of seeking more advantageous careers in Gulf countries. WHO helps Egyptian nurses by training them in the most modern routines in health care.
Revolutions in several Arab countries have worked as a burden on health services which were already stretched thin. How can countries balance the needs of the revolutionaries and the public where health services are concerned?
This is indeed a difficult balance sometimes. But the WHO has an emergency plan which could be put into force once the situation calls for it. No matter how vital it is to care for anyone injured in the revolution, women in labour should find a hospital to go to, persons with maladies should receive proper care, and road accident victims should be adequately treated. WHO works with national health ministries to make sure emergency plans are implemented when needed, so that hospitals can cater for every health need.
How about the Egyptian Health Ministry, which invariably comes under fire where health policies are concerned?
In my experience the ministry has always made a mammoth effort on the health front. But it must be remembered that we are not a rich country, and we have an ever-growing population that gobbles up every attempt at development. Even so, there is non-stop coordination between the ministry and WHO, and this is reflected in the health services offered by the ministry. I can honestly testify to that truth.