Staff and specialist trainees from UKZN’s Urology Department have joined forces with African Synergy Health to tackle long public hospital surgery waiting lists, bringing life-changing relief and hope to 74 patients in just five days!
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (16 July 2026) – If you’re South African, you know we’ve entered that special month that nudges each of us to serve, give, and do a little good in honour of a leader and humanitarian who did so much to shape our country.
While most of us are signing up to volunteer or setting money aside for a charity close to our hearts, the urology team of specialists at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) have embarked on their own “marathon for good,” working tirelessly to help treat 200 patients by the end of Mandela Month.
Over five days, UKZN’s urology specialists have helped perform surgeries on 74 patients at both the Victoria Mxenge – St Aidan’s Hospital Tertiary Complex in Durban and the Ngwelezana Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Empangeni. This all forms part of supporting the KwaZulu-Natal leg of the 2026 African Synergy Health’s (ASH) Mandela Week Surgical Marathon.
Staff and specialist trainees from the University’s Discipline of Urology have joined healthcare partners to provide life-changing surgical care to patients who have had to cope with their symptoms while on a waiting list for elective procedures due to a strained public healthcare system.
A range of complex urological procedures, including surgery to correct congenital birth defects, reconstruct damaged urethras, and remove kidneys or testes affected by cancer, have been performed on patients in the space of a week.
Head of UKZN’s Discipline of Urology and Head of the KwaZulu-Natal Clinical Department of Urology, Dr Cindy Zietsman, said the initiative demonstrates what can be achieved when the public and private sectors work together.
“Treating 74 patients in just five days demonstrates both the commitment of our multidisciplinary team and the impact that strategic public-private partnerships can have on reducing surgical waiting lists,” said Zietsman.
She said the demand for specialist urological services in the province continues to far exceed available capacity. To maximise patient access, operating theatre capacity was significantly expanded throughout the KZN leg of the marathon.
The surgical marathon is being implemented through a Memorandum of Understanding between ASH (a non-profit public benefit organisation) and the National Department of Health, to eliminate elective surgical waiting lists in South Africa’s public healthcare system.
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