On World Heart Day, the cardiology community in Sudan stands in respect and appreciation of a distinguished scientific and academic figure: Professor Salah Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Basha, Director of the National Cardiac Center, who has dedicated his professional and academic life to serving the people of Sudan and establishing the foundations of cardiology in our country. Since his graduation from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Gezira, followed by fellowships from the Royal College in London and the Royal College in Dublin, and his attainment of the European Board of Cardiology, Professor Al-Basha has remained a model physician-scholar who embodies both academic excellence and practical leadership.
Professor Al-Basha has left a profound imprint on the development of cardiac services in Sudan through his leadership roles as Head of the Cardiology Department at Shaab Teaching Hospital and later as Director of the National Cardiac Center from 2013 to the present. He is one of the founders of cardiac fully government supported programme in April 2018, and continued his efforts until pediatric open-heart surgery was introduced. He also secured government support for the adult cardiac surgery program. Additionally, he contributed to building a national database for free cardiac programs and expanded cardiac services by establishing specialized centers in several states.
He has played a pivotal role in advancing medical education by founding the cardiology specialty at the Sudan Medical Specialization Board and chairing the Cardiology Council since 2013. More than forty-three cardiology specialists have been trained under his supervision. Professor Al-Basha has served as a professor of internal medicine and cardiology at several Sudanese universities, including the University of Khartoum, the National University, Al-Neelain University, and the University of Medical Sciences and Technology. He also has a notable academic record with more than twenty-one published research papers in reputable scientific journals. His scientific and professional contributions were recently crowned with the Professor Bushra Ibn Auf Award for Academic and Professional Excellence, recognizing his leadership and outstanding service to the people of Sudan.
The scientific, professional, and humanitarian contributions of Professor Salah Al-Basha — and the profound impact he has made on cardiac care in Sudan — make his recognition today a well-deserved tribute. It is an acknowledgment of a man who carried the concerns of his nation and his patients, proving that a heart devoted to serving others never stops beating.