Zanele Cekiso has been appointed by the Eastern Cape MEC to serve on the Executive Committee (Ex-Co) of the Madwaleni Hospital Board for the Eastern Cape Department of Health. Graduated with PgDip in HIV/Aids Management in 2022.
Zanele Cekiso could hardly believe the news herself when she heard she had been appointed by the Eastern Cape MEC to serve on the Executive Committee (Ex-Co) of the Madwaleni Hospital Board for the Eastern Cape Department of Health. Only a few years ago, she was a nurse working in hospitals, serving her community at the front line of the healthcare services – but now she can drive real change in the health sector at a higher and more strategic level.
When Zanele Cekiso started working as a young nursing professional, she was taken aback by the magnitude of the healthcare challenges in South Africa. But instead of being demoralised by the many problems she saw – the burden of disease and the gaps in the system – she set out to do what she could to improve matters, documenting her journey on social media with a channel on YouTube. This aimed to educate the public about healthcare services and to inspire other young nurses like her to become the best nurse they can be for patients in South Africa.
She became known as an activist and healthcare professional, rising through the ranks and specialising in HIV/Aids management. She took up a position as Biomedical Line Manager at IHPS and later joined SEAD as a Quality Assurance Coordinator and later became a Clinical Manager, developing leadership skills in the healthcare sector. Accolades and awards followed, and she was named one of the Mail&Guardian 200 Young South Africans 2022 and Sunday World Unsung Hero 2023.
Keen to develop her leadership skills, Zanele in 2022 graduated with a postgraduate diploma in HIV/Aids management from the Africa Centre for Inclusive Health Management at Stellenbosch University. This programme, which is aimed at developing changemakers in the healthcare sector in South Africa and Africa, paved the way for her appointment to the Eastern Cape Department of Health Hospital Board – and ultimately to its Executive Committee.
Zanele was not expecting the nomination when she arrived at the board meeting earlier in the week. “To my surprise, I was nominated and appointed as Deputy Chairperson of the Board. I accepted, because I believe I can never truly know what God has called me for in the Eastern Cape unless I take up every opportunity He presents and commit to doing the work,” she wrote in a post online and received congratulations from many across the sector in responses to her post.
“This is a significant milestone,” says Dr Munya Saruchera, Director of the Africa Centre for Inclusive Health Management (Africa Centre). “It reflects her professional excellence, leadership ability and her commitment to advancing health management in the region. We are very proud of her here at the Africa Centre.”
Dr Saruchera said the Africa Centre was passionate about producing leaders specifically in health management and said he hoped Zanele’s success would inspire other young professionals in healthcare to see how they could make a difference by working hard and applying themselves to gain skills and engage with the serious challenges facing the healthcare sector.