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n South africa there are 54 deaths per 1,000 children born every year compared to eight per 1,000 or less in the u.S., uk and germany. Deaths among the under-fives are becoming increasingly concentrated in Sub-Saharan africa, which is also where children are at the highest risk of death within their first month of life. It is a serious problem that will need a large scale solution. to this end, the Nelson mandela Children’s Hospital has been launched, a project that will result in the largest children’s medical facility in africa, building towards achieving the millennium Development goal of cutting mortality among the underfives by two thirds between 1990 and 2015. Nelson mandela is a name that is recognised the world over as that of a great humanitarian leader but even now there are still people working to expand his legacy for a whole new generation. In his own words: “a children’s hospital will be a credible demonstration of the commitment of african leaders to place the rights of children at the forefront. Nothing less would be enough.” one of the people inspired by these words is Sibongile mkhabela, CEo of the Nelson mandela Children’s Hospital trust. “the Nelson mandela Children’s Hospital trust was initiated by the Nelson mandela Children’s Fund when, in 2007, mr mandela and his wife mrs graca machel, personally requested that the Fund look into the healthcare needs of the children of Southern africa,” she says. “this led to the establishment of the Nelson mandela Children’s Hospital trust, whose vision is to build a state-of-theart specialist paediatric academic and tertiary referral hospital providing child-centred, best quality medical services to the children of Southern
africa, irrespective of their social and economic status. we are currently fundraising to build this hospital, and our overall target is R1 billion to build and equip the hospital, as well as training the medical professionals who will work in it.” the need for such a hospital is clear: Right now there are only four dedicated children’s hospitals in the entire continent of africa, one in Cape town, one in Nairobi, and two in Cairo.Yet, there are nearly 450 million children. “this shows that enormous gap that exists when is comes to the care that our children need,” mkhabela explains. “Nelson mandela Children’s Hospital will go towards fixing such disparities.” the new hospital will boast a number of unique features. It will be a specialist hospital that treats children with complex illnesses, including craniofacial, cardiothoracic, renal, pulmonology, haematology, oncology, and neurology facilities. the hospital will also serve as a valuable platform for training the next generation of medical staff. “as a training facility the hospital will be able to help build capacity in Southern africa,” mkhabela says. “Not only through those who are physically training at the hospital but, with the use of telemedicine platforms, consulting with those in the rest of the region as well.” the hospital will also make research a crucial part of its operations, allowing the facility to better treat the illnesses that are specifically affecting children in the region. However the training and research complement a holistic healing environment for children that also provides space for meditation and reflection for parents and staff alike, as well as therapeutic gardens for the children. this will be combined with nearby accommodation for the families of patients provided through Continued
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