CaSIPO is a project that will provide capacity building assistance to the South African Government to integrate care and support services (palliative care) within the broader health system.
International football icon Lucas Radebe, an ambassador for the Hospice Palliative Care Association (HPCA) in South Africa, was among the guests attending the launch.
The event began with a warm welcoming address by HPCA Board Chairperson, Mr Bulelane Kuwane, before Dr Liz Gwyther, CEO of HPCA, provided an overview of HPCA, setting the stage for André Wagner of HPCA to provide an overview of the CaSIPO project.
After the second musical interlude of the afternoon, attendees heard from Stephen Callahan, the Deputy Mission Director of USAID – the organisation that has granted funding of $50 million over five years for the CaSIPO project.
“CaSIPO’s more holistic approach to caring for patients will improve patient outcomes so that South Africans can experience quality of life and dignity when diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness,” Dr Gwyther told the guests.
Keynote speaker, Dr Yogan Pillay, Deputy Director General: HIV/Aids, TB and MCWH, National Department of Health, said: “The generous funding from the people of the United States of America will assist us to strengthen systems to ensure that people with chronic diseases are retained in care and provided with the necessary support to enable to them to adhere to treatment.”
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