South Africa Friends of Sheba off to a flying start

OWN CORRESPONDENT

Between music, fine food, and menorah lighting, Professor Mordechai Shani, Chancellor of the Sheba Fund for Health Services and Research, spoke about the origin of the Sheba Medical Center, with roots that go as deep as the establishment of the country it services.

Naomi Hadar, Executive Director of South African Friends of Sheba, mapped out the goals of the South African organisation, and gave hope for the future. Director General Emeritus Dr Talia Golan, originally from South Africa, and now head of Sheba’s Early Phase Clinical Trials Program and Medical Oncologist at Gastrointestinal Unit, shared information about the important work she and her team are doing in pancreatic cancer research, as well as moving personal stories which brought tears to many eyes.

Yoel Har-Even, Sheba Medical Center’s Chief of Staff, said, “We are looking forward to strengthening the relationship between the Jewish community in South Africa and Sheba Medical Center in Israel. Our goals include formulating programmes that will allow South African medical students to intern and specialise at Sheba Medical Center, to assist disadvantaged communities in South Africa and the rest of the African continent, and ongoing support for Sheba’s highest standards of medicine, research, innovation and technology, transforming medicine in Israel and worldwide.”