Nulda Beyers (Founding Director, Desmond Tutu TB Centre), Anneke Hesseling (Director, Desmond Tutu TB Centre, and Mariana Kruger (Executive Head, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Children’s Hospital)
Today, we mourn the death of giant. We also celebrate a life well lived and dedicated to the service of others, including addressing glaring gaps and inequality in healthcare, in South Africa, and globally.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was a deeply convicted religious man who devoted his life to God, his church and communities living in poverty. His outspoken opinions about the stark inequalities in health care were shaped by his profound belief that all people are equal and that all have a right to receive good and equal health care. When a team from the Desmond Tutu TB Centre visited him in hospital some time ago, and enquired about his health, he said that he was fine and the doctors and nurses were taking good care of him, but that he was deeply saddened by the notion that he was receiving such excellent health care while there were so many others in South Africa who were still deprived of such good care. He was always outspoken, and appropriately so, about persisting inequalities in health care in South Africa, especially for the most vulnerable, especially children and families affected by tuberculosis (TB).
As a young child, Archbishop Tutu suffered from polio and burn wounds. In fact, his name Mpilo means “Health” because his grandmother said that death would not fetch this young child, but that he would be healthy. Later as a teenager he developed TB himself wrote an emotive editorial in The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (1) about his excellent care during this difficult time. He even joked that he fell in love with one of the nurses. However, at the same time, he also realized that all the people in his ward who had coughed up blood, were dying. When one day, he also started coughing up blood, he was terrified, and said to God: ”God if I have to die now, it is OK, but if you can make me live, that will also be OK.” In the editorial he posed the poignant question of how we talk about death to young people.
These early experiences likely influenced his decision to provide his unconditional support to the Desmond Tutu TB Centre at Stellenbosch University and also to the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital, which is part of Tygerberg Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, with himself and his wife Leah Tutu as the joint patrons.
At numerous community and advocacy meetings he would urge and motivate people affected by TB to complete their treatment. He was a dedicated activist and raised awareness about the TB epidemic in South Africa. He would often ask how it was possible that South Africa could have one of the highest TB incidences in the world.
Arch Tutu also spearheaded advocacy campaigns about childhood TB, which was, largely neglected until recently, despite the dramatic TB-related morbidity and mortality in children. He personally announced the award of the prestigious Stop TB Partnership Kochon prize to the Desmond Tutu TB Centre in 2012 for its excellence in reseach in addressing children affected by TB. (2)
Archbishop and Leah Tutu were active supporters of the children cared for by Tygerberg Children’s Hospital in raising funds. They paid numerous visits to the children in the hospital, when they talked to parents and children, read stories and brought love and laughter to all. During one such visit, a young blind boy asked whether he could “see” Father, wanting to feel the Arch’s face. Arch said “Yes my son”. The boy touched father’s face and said: ”Vader jy het ‘n groot neus! (you have a big nose). Of course, the Arch then laughed his characteristics giggle,
Archbishop Tutu wanted to become a medical doctor, and despite being hospitalized with TB as a teenager, he still passed matric and was accepted to study medicine, but could not obtain the necessary funding. Who knows where such a path would have led him? The path he did end up walking continues to have dramatic impact on many people in our beloved and troubled country, South Africa, and globally.
A purple orchid was cultivated in his honor (Cattlianthe Archbishop Desmond and Leah Tutu, Plantae Orchids). This hybrid reminds us of the fact that purple is the colour of Advent and Lent. Purple is also the first colour in the rainbow and serves as reminder to continue realizing our dreams of becoming a true Rainbow nation. Finally, this purple orchid is a reminder of September 1989 , when a peaceful protest in Cape Town was dispersed by a water cannon dispensing purple dye, prompting the slogan “the purple shall govern”. This purple rain march was followed by the enormous Peace March on 13 September 1989, led by Archbishop and other religious leaders.
Today, as the 4th COVID wave is raging in South Africa, we have much to be thankful for.
Sadly, TB remains a leading cause of death in South Africa, fueled by HIV, poverty. Health inequalities remain. We are humbled to be able to pay tribute to our beloved patron as proud South Africans.
The Arch’s love, his many messages of hope and encouragement, and his true humility will always stay with us.
References
1.Is there life after TB? Reflections of one who knows. Tutu D. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2003 Mar;7(3):204
