Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe visits Tapologo, Diocese of Rustenburg

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Tapologo, Phokeng, Diocese of Rustenburg, Tuesday 8 October 2013, accompanied by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, North West Premier Thandi Modise and North West MEC for Health Masike.

Other dignitaries of the National Department of Health, the North West Provincial Department of Health, and SANAC (the South African National AIDS Council) were joined by board members, staff and friends of Tapologo for a short programme which included a tour of the in-patient unit.

Bishop Kevin Dowling outlined the beginnings of Tapologo in the Boputhatswana period before 1994 and its subsequent development into an important health care service in the Bojanala District, and in the platinum mining area of the North West. Stephen Blakeman, the manager described Tapologo’s current programmes which include PEPFAR funded antiretroviral treatment projects and orphan care, home based care and an in-patient hospice. These projects all have extensive outreach into informal settlements across the District.

The Deputy President expressed how impressed he is by the Church’s commitment to serving people in need, and the hope that the Department of Health will support Tapologo in the future.

The pharmacy at Tapologo has been upgraded with PEPFAR funding to handle bulk ARV drugs that the North West Department of Health will begin supplying in the next few weeks.

Mr James Maloney represented PEPFAR at the event. Sr Alison Munro and Tansel Vosloo represented the SACBC AIDS Office which has administered the PEPFAR grant at Tapologo since 2004.