Delivered by the SayPro Chief Development Officer- Regaugetswe Netshiozwe
Ladies and Gentlemen, Esteemed Guests, Development Partners, SayPro Colleagues, and Respected Community Members,
Good morning.
Today, we gather in recognition of SayPro’s 2025 National Healthcare Decisions Day, a day that challenges all of us—not just to think about healthcare—but to consider the systems, services, and support networks that enable people to make decisions about their health with confidence, clarity, and dignity.
As the Chief Development Officer at SayPro, my role focuses on growth, sustainability, and impact. But development is not just about expansion or infrastructure. True development lies in human development — in building people’s ability to shape their own futures. And that begins with the power to make informed healthcare choices.
Healthcare decision-making is a development issue. Why?
Because access to health information is development.
Because a mother choosing safe childbirth care is development.
Because a teenager accessing mental health support is development.
Because an elder having a say in their end-of-life care is development.
This year, SayPro’s development priorities have focused on deepening our community-based health empowerment strategies. We have invested in:
- Building grassroots awareness programs to help individuals understand their healthcare rights
- Expanding mobile and rural outreach to ensure access to decision-making support in underserved areas
- Collaborating with development agencies and donors to fund inclusive and people-driven health literacy projects
- And scaling community health worker training, so that local champions can guide their peers through critical, and often difficult, healthcare choices
At the heart of all our development efforts is this core belief: when people are empowered to decide, development becomes sustainable.
On this National Healthcare Decisions Day, I want to remind us that we cannot claim to be developing communities unless we are ensuring that every individual — regardless of age, gender, income, or education — has the tools, resources, and respect they need to decide what is best for their health.
To our partners: thank you for walking with us on this journey.
To our healthcare workers and educators: your role is critical in shaping awareness and access.
To our community members: your voice is not just valid — it is vital.
Let us continue to grow a future where development means more than statistics — it means people who are informed, equipped, and free to make decisions that shape their own health journeys.
Happy National Healthcare Decisions Day 2025.
Together, let’s keep developing dignity, one choice at a time.
Thank you.
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