A leader, champion of transformation in the SA medical sector
I AM profoundly sad about the passing of Professor Bongani Mayosi – Cape Town-based cardiologist, researcher and dean of the health sciences faculty at UCT.
We at the Netcare Group deeply mourn the loss of a health-care pioneer of immense stature.
South Africa has lost a great and courageous leader in the medical field, and someone who fought fearlessly for the transformation and inclusion of black South Africans in health care.
Professor Mayosi was also an exceptionally talented clinician and cardiologist, and one of South Africa’s most talented researchers.
He was passionate about the education of medical students, and the development of South African medical academics.
Concerned about the shortage of qualified academic doctors in leadership roles at South African medical schools, Professor Mayosi envisioned the establishment of a PhD scholarship which would give qualified South African black candidates the opportunity to further their studies and research in order to build academic excellence in various fields of medicine.
One of Professor Mayosi’s many achievements is the Hamilton Naki Scholarship, which was established in 2007, on the 40th anniversary of the first heart transplant.
The scholarship was the brainchild of Professor Mayosi, to honour the legacy of Hamilton Naki and numerous other South Africans who were denied the chance to fulfil their potential in the field of medicine during apartheid and to ensure the continued progress of medicine in our country.
We at Netcare were privileged to join hands with Professor Mayosi and all of the medical schools of our South African universities by providing the funding for this scholarship initiative under the auspices of the Physician Partnerships Trust, which forms part of Netcare’s Health Partners for Life programme.
Under the leadership of Professor Mayosi, who also chaired the panel of eminent selectors, the scholarship has to date enabled 14 deserving South African medical specialists to undertake post-doctoral studies and research in their respective fields of specialisation, making a meaningful contribution not only towards the advancement of academic medicine in our country and to the benefit of our people but also internationally.
We express our sincere condolences to Professor Mayosi’s family and loved ones; he has left an indelible footprint and enduring legacy in the medical landscape in South Africa, and will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege to know him.