CANSA CEO Letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa – Image Credit: GCIS
19 February 2018
The President of South Africa
Union Building
Pretoria
Honourable Mr Ramaphosa
On behalf of the Board and Management of the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), I wish to express our profound and heartfelt congratulations on your appointment as the President of South Africa.
Your extensive experience and exemplary leadership demonstrated in your previous positions leaves us confident that the trust placed in you will inspire you to continue your important efforts in promoting the unity of our country, leading it on a path to prosperity, further well-being and security of our people.
We applaud your commitment as conveyed in the State of the Nation Address, to fight Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’s) and cancer in SA. We welcome the attention to services at all health care levels and the underscoring of equity in access to health services.
We wish to take this opportunity to emphasise the pressing need for cost-effective interventions for early detection and treatment with emphasis on access to oncology treatment and medicine. The need for addressing the health workforce gap is equally important as this is critical to early detection, referral for diagnoses and treatment of cancer as well as management in the community for people living with cancer and other NCD’s. This is all aligned with the recommendations in the 2017 World Health Assembly (WHA) cancer resolution.
We as CANSA and part of Civil Society stand ready to support and offer our expertise to the Government to reduce the burden of cancer through effective Universal Health Care. Our strength lies in our wide footprint in all communities of SA, as well as representation and collaboration on International Health and Cancer Control Bodies.
Please accept our best wishes for every success and wisdom in fulfilling the important and highly responsible duties of your position.
Yours sincerely
Elize Joubert
Chief Executive Officer (Cancer Association of South Africa)
