Award Criteria
How are award-winners assessed?
 

Innovativeness

The extent to which creative and new procedures have been developed to address poverty-related issues.

Effectiveness

The extent to which the Project has achieved or is on the way to achieving its stated objectves and other socially desirable outcomes.

Poverty Impact

The demonstrable effect of the Project in improving the quality of life of poor communities and individuals.

Sustainability

The viability and sound functioning of the Project within constraints that include funding and staffing.

Replicability

The value of the Project in teaching others new ideas and good practises for poverty-reduction programmes.

 
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CANSA Katleho Interim Home

The Cancer Association of South Africa was begun in 1931 to address the prevention, diagnosis and care of cancer patients in South Africa. CANSA now has 8 provincial offices and 43 regional offices. Cancer is the second most moribund disease in the country after HIV/AIDS and affects 1:4 men and 1:5 women. Its incidence has been on the rise in conjunction with HIV/AIDS and Karposi’s Sarcoma, the cancer associated with HIV/AIDS.

In the Free State and Northern Cape provinces the National Hospital is the only hospital that treata cancer. The treatment course usually takes 6-8 weeks and is done in outpatient clinics leaving patients with nowhere to go during their treatment. In response, CANSA established the Katleho Interim Home in 1990 for cancer patients to stay while undergoing their treatment.  These patients come from 141 rural towns and are the poorest of the poor, usually not having any indication of how long they will need to stay near the hospital. Katleho has 65 beds and offers holistic treatment: physical, physiological, financial, religious, and emotional, making it a one-stop free of charge service to poor cancer patients.  Katleho depends on government funding from the Department of Social Development as well as private donations and corporate donations. It also relies heavily on time put in by volunteers.

Innovation

The prevalence of cancer has been worsened by HIV/AIDS and vice versa. With the establishement of Katleho, it addressed  a need that wasn’t being filled - housing and care for outpatient cancer patients. This project uses a mix of public and private funds to help ensure those that need cancer treatment are supported while they receive it.

Effectiveness

Due particularly to the rise of HIV/AIDS, cancer has been rising in South Africa.  In the Orange Free State there are 4100 new diagnoses each year and 25,000 patients are currently receiving treatment. With a small staff and the service of volunteers, Katleho is able to provide care for 65 patients at a time. If more require beds at any given time, Katleho does what it can to make sure that everyone is accommodated. 

Poverty Impact

Because there is only one hospital in two provinces (Free State and Northern Cape) that treats cancer patients, those coming from poor rural areas are supported by Katleho.

Sustainability

Katleho operates on a budget of about R400,000 per year, of that R151,000 comes from the government and R200,000 from earmarked funds of private companies and sponsors. The rest comes from private donations. 

Replication

CANSA is a national organization and the Katleho model is eminently replicable.


Partnerships

  • Department of Social Development
  • Earmarked Funds

 

Visit www.cansa.org.za for more information

 
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