Egypt won the 2009 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Award sponsored by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Canada Fund for Africa, Egyptian Health Ministry Spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shahin said Thursday 23/4/2009.

Ceremonies will be held in Addis Ababa on April 28 through May 1 to hand over the prizes, Shahin said.

Egypt won the prize for the Health Ministry's national program for improving women healthcare which was launched by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak on October 30, 2007.

The program had greatly contributed to upgrading health services offered to women, especially early detection of tumors, and helped spread awareness among women on ways of enjoying better health, Shahin said.

TIGA Awards - launched in 2007 - aim to recognize the work of African governments in the effective use of ICTs for public services delivery as part of ECA's African Information Society Initiative (AISI) and Canada's ICTs for development program.

The awards are aimed at African governments and institutions based in Africa that are engaged in initiating, developing, and implementing ICTs for public services in Africa contributing to the development of the Information Society in Africa.

The Egyptian Education Initiative won the 2007 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Award for improving educational services through the use of ICT.