platform for improving child healthcare throughout Africa.The African Paediatric Fellowship Programme (APFP)builds a specialist paediatric clinical workforce, researchand training capacity across Sub-Saharan Africa.Initiated by the University of Cape Town, in partnershipwith the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital,APFP provides relevant training for African child healthprofessionals by Africa, in Africa. The project confirms thatAfrica has 24% of the global disease burden but only 3% ofthe world’s health workers. Critically, there is fewer than 1paediatrician per 100,000 children in sub-Saharan Africacompared to 99 per 100,000 in the USA. As these childhealth leaders return to their countries, they ensure that theyrepresent the voices of children to ensure that they haveaccess to health care.“We can learn from these Fellows who aspire to changetheir systems against all odds. The Fellow who started achild-focused cancer unit. The Fellow who started avaccination body that included East and West Africa, as fartoo many children in Africa are dying from preventablediseases. Through collaboration, commitment and support,change happens. Growing children are unique, and theirneeds are different to adults. As leaders, we need to ensurethat all children can access healthcare that focuses on theirneeds.”“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that wecannot lose sight of what children need as they grow up tobecome adults; they are the future generation. Let us usethese lessons and work together to ensure that we, asleaders, continue to build the platform for improved childhealthcare for those who need it the most,” adds Chantel.Redefining ExcellenceFor the Children’s Hospital Trust, it is not about awards andrecognition. The Trust has invested over R1 billion ofdonated funds since inception, including the training forover 600 healthcare workers from Sub-Saharan Africa.The Trust raises funds for the upgrade and expansion of theHospital’s buildings, the purchase of state-of-the-artmedical equipment, new medical treatment projects andfunds the training of medical professionals across Africa –ensuring that the Hospital not only retains its world-classstature, but is able to continue providing life-changing andlife-saving care for children.The Trust relies on donations in order to fund these needs.When you donate to the Trust, 100% of your donation goestowards funding projects that change children’s lives (andthe lives of the people who love them). The operationalcosts of the Trust are funded from an endowment, so yourgenerous contributions are never used to coveradministration costs.Since April 2019, the Trust has been actively raising fundsfor the upgrade and expansion of the current EmergencyCentre. The project is being delivered in two phases, withphase 1 completed in October 2020, and phase 2 inFebruary 2022. The upgrade and expansion will improvepersonalised care and flow of patients and healthcareprofessionals through the extremely busy frontline of theHospital.All spaces have been designed with the comfort and safetyof young patients in mind. Despite the pressures andinconvenience of construction in progress, EmergencyCentre staff have been committed to maintaining the highstandard of care needed to minimise hospitalisation andensuring that the children return home to their familieswithout delay. So far, R121 million has been raised, whichmeans that they are only R1 million away from their goal.The African Paediatric Fellowship Programme (APFP) saw16 Fellows complete their training in 2020, bringing thetotal number of alumni since the start of the programme in2007, to 131. 92% of alumni are still working in Africa, atestament to the robustness of the programme’s approachesto building capacity for Africa.The Weekend Waiting List Initiative (WWLI) has beenrunning as an annual project since 2011. The Initiative wasestablished to address the protracted waiting list by addingan additional day of surgeries (Saturday) to the hospital’soperating schedule. By reducing the large volumes ofrelatively minor cases, more scope and flexibility areprovided for more complex cases to be attended to duringthe week.During 2020, with most elective surgeries cancelled in thefirst half of the year due to the pandemic, it was estimatedthat it will take up to two years to catch up the additionalsurgical backlog these delays have caused. Resuming inJuly 2020, the WWLI was therefore central to theHospital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trust team,,Ourdemonstrated ingenuity,compassion, resilience,commitment, and fortitudeduring a very difficult time.
Change language