UKZN Surgeons Drive Mandela Week Marathon, Treating 74 Patients in Five Days
The Surgical Marathon is being rolled out across six provinces under a Memorandum of Understanding between ASH and the National Department of Health.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has played a pivotal role in the KwaZulu-Natal leg of the 2026 African Synergy Health (ASH) Mandela Week Surgical Marathon, helping deliver life-changing care to patients long stuck on elective surgery waiting lists.
Over five days (6–10 July), UKZN’s Discipline of Urology specialists and trainees joined forces with healthcare partners to perform surgeries on 74 patients at the Victoria Mxenge–St Aidan’s Hospital Tertiary Complex in Durban and Ngwelezana Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Empangeni. This marks a significant contribution toward the national campaign’s aspirational target of treating 200 patients by the end of Mandela Month.
The surgical teams carried out a range of complex urological procedures, including correcting congenital birth defects, reconstructing damaged urethras, and removing cancer-affected kidneys and testes. Several patients underwent multiple operations during the marathon, with the final tally of procedures still being consolidated.
Dr Cindy Zietsman, Head of UKZN’s Discipline of Urology and the KwaZulu-Natal Clinical Department of Urology, said the initiative highlights the power of collaboration.
“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,” she noted.
Zietsman added that demand for specialist urological services in KwaZulu-Natal continues to far exceed available capacity, with urgent cases waiting up to eight weeks and elective procedures stretching to 12 months.
To maximise access, theatre capacity was expanded: Victoria Mxenge–St Aidan’s ran eight slates daily instead of six, while Ngwelezana doubled from two to four.
The Surgical Marathon is being rolled out across six provinces under a Memorandum of Understanding between ASH and the National Department of Health. Having concluded in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, the programme is currently underway in Gauteng before moving to the North West, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo.
ASH Founder and CEO Dr Viola Morolo said the organisation’s vision is to eliminate elective surgical waiting lists through collaborative partnerships that strengthen South Africa’s healthcare system.
Morolo, alongside Dr Marissa Conradie, volunteered during three of the five operating days, working with UKZN specialists, registrar doctors, and surgical nurses.
The initiative’s impact continues to grow. In 2025, 38 patients underwent 118 procedures at Victoria Mxenge–St Aidan’s. This year, nearly double the number of patients were treated across two hospitals, underscoring the expanding reach of the partnership.
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