Engen donates R4 million to Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital2013-11-01 The need for a tertiary paediatric hospital in South Africa is greater than ever and can no longer be ignored, stated Sibongile Mkhabela, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust at the announcement that Engen Petroleum are contributing R4 million towards the building of a new facility that will carry Madiba’s name.
“Africa carries a disproportionately high paediatric disease burden. Unfortunately this has not been met with an increase in paediatric health care capacity. The continent continues to lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to taking care of our children. The need for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital and the level of care it will provide is now even greater,†said Mkhabela. She added that while progress is being made in children’s healthcare, it was not happening quickly enough. “Thousands of children die unnecessarily every day in Africa. With the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital we have the opportunity to start addressing these issues and to contribute meaningfully to paediatric care in Africa.†Making the announcement at a function in Johannesburg, the Managing Director and CEO of Engen, Datuk Nizam Salleh, said that the African energy company was humbled to contribute towards the building of the specialist paediatric facility, which, once completed, will be one of only five dedicated children's hospitals on the continent. Engen’s R4m contribution will be used to build the paediatric surgical wards, and so provide sick children from across the continent with the best possible medical, surgical and nursing care, with the shortest hospitalisation possible. “Ensuring that every single child on the continent has access to effective health care is something Madiba has long dreamed about. Engen shares his sentiment. This made it easy for us to pledge our support to bring his vision to fruition,†Salleh said. Engen has been a long-term supporter of the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, which has, until now, been the only specialist hospital in southern Africa, dedicated to children. It also remains a centre of excellence for the training of paediatric health care professionals from across the sub-continent. “We trust that our contribution will make a real difference to children in need, by making world class health care easily accessible to them,†added Salleh. “Engen is privileged to play a very small role in this, and we are humbled to think about what the hospital can deliver for our children.“ |
Engen donates R4 million to Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital
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