The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital is celebrating seven decades since it first opened its doors in Cape Town and launching a R70 million fundraising campaign to help secure its future.
The hospital was born in 1945, when the Cape Region of the South African Red Cross Society proposed creating a memorial to those who had served in the Second World War by dedicating a hospital to the nation’s children. Public donations raised R476,000 towards construction, and after 11 years, the hospital opened in Rondebosch on 18 June 1956.
Its first patients were 15 children recovering from poliomyelitis. From an initial 90 beds, the institution has grown into Africa’s first and only dedicated paediatric tertiary hospital.
Today, Red Cross Hospital treats about 250,000 children each year. Over 70 years, this amounts to an estimated 17.5 million young lives, including children with congenital heart disease, severe burns and trauma, cancer, and complex neurosurgical conditions referred from across sub-Saharan Africa.
“Seventy years ago, people who had very little, gave what they could so that children who had even less might receive the best possible care… Our commitment to every child who walks through these doors regardless of where they come from or what their family can afford, is unchanged from the day we opened,” said Chief Executive Officer Dr Anita Parbhoo.
The Children’s Hospital Trust said the R70 million campaign would fund critical clinical equipment, additional surgical theatre time to reduce waiting lists, short stay care projects, and expanded specialist paediatric services across the Western Cape.
“This hospital was built by a community that understood something important: that investing in a child’s health is investing in the future of our country. Together, we have built something remarkable, and we encourage you to continue the journey with us,” said Children’s Hospital Trust Chief Executive Officer Chantel Cooper.
The campaign will run throughout the hospital’s jubilee year, alongside a commemorative ‘Seven Stories for Seven Decades’ series where people like Madeleine Hetem, who received an open heart transplant as a toddler 44 years ago, share their stories.
