The MEC for Health Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo invites the media to join him on Friday 21 October 2011 as he participates in three programmes aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles, saving babies and mothers and the official opening of the Paediatric Eye Care Centre in Durban.
The MEC will start the day by launching a workplace healthy lifestyle programme at King Edward VIII Hospital at 07h00 in the morning. This programme is launched to encourage healthcare workers to participate in active and healthy lifestyle programmes to prevent the onset of diseases of lifestyles.
The MEC will proceed to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital where he will be joined by the Deputy Minister of Public Work Hon Hendrietta Ipeleng Bogopane-Zulu (who is visually impaired) to officially open the new Paediatric Eye Care Centre - thanks to a three-year partnership between the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health and international sight-saving organisation ORBIS.
The event will start at 10h30 at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. The ORBIS Paediatric Eye Care Centre will offer specialised treatment and surgery for blinding conditions that are common in South Africa such as paediatric congenital cataract, glaucoma, retinoblastoma and uncorrected refractive error. It will serve around 3.5 million children in KZN.
The last event for the day will see the MEC, First Ladies Mrs Khumalo-Zuma and Dr May Mashego-Mkhize as well as Queen Thandi MaNdlovu Zulu during the launch of a partnership programme aimed at working with communities for better health care delivery. The event will be held at Umlazi M section hall from 12h30.
For mothers and their babies; the partnership seeks to strengthen healthcare delivery at community level, rally all stakeholders in communities to work together with health facilities and be able to take responsibility and accountability for mothers and their babies, and optimise a quality acceptable standard of health care.
Further advocates for a wider community buy in through full participation of ward councillors, community advisory groups and community health workers.
Enquiries:
Chris Maxon
Cell: 083 447 2869
E-mail: chris.maxon@kznhealth.gov.za
MEC Dhlomo to launch a Workplace Healthy Lifestyle programme, open a Paediatric Eye Care Centre and strengthen partnership with communities to save babies
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