Project Flamingo performs 39 life-saving breast cancer surgeries on Mandela Day 2025

Project Flamingo performs 39 life-saving breast cancer surgeries on Mandela Day 2025 as part of their Make Room for Her campaign.

For Immediate release

On Saturday, 19 July 2025, Project Flamingo performed 39 life-saving breast cancer surgeries in five hospitals across in the Western and Eastern Cape, providing medical treatment to  women who have been on waiting lists within the public healthcare system. To date the NPO team has performed over 1,800 breast cancer surgeries in South Africa’s public healthcare system, utilising the time and skills of volunteer doctors to bridge critical gaps in cancer care. 

Go Behind-the-Scenes with the George Hospital Team on Mandela Day #MakeRoomforHer

This large-scale intervention on Mandela Day took place at five provincial hospitals where Project Flamingo already delivers action-driven solutions that address the backlog of surgeries, and the growing need for breast cancer care. Mandela Day surgeries took place at Groote Schuur Hospital and Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town; George Regional Hospital; and in the Eastern Cape - Livingstone Hospital in Gqeberha and Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane township near East London. Volunteer surgeons and anesthetists were joined by teams of patient support volunteers and nursing staff funded by Project Flamingo to deliver these life-saving breast cancer surgeries in unused weekend theatre space. 

Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women in their lifetime, and as the number of cases continues to rise, the public healthcare system and its resources remain inadequate and incapable of treating the growing number of patients.  

Mandela Day also saw the launch of Project Flamingo’s Make Room for Her campaign, an ongoing initiative from the organisation as a step forward in ensuring that women battling breast cancer no longer face the harsh reality of delayed or denied care due to long waiting periods for treatments, underfunded budgets, and overlooked voices. With the slogan "We’re making room - in hospitals, in budgets, in conversations - for her," Project Flamingo aims to restore dignity, prioritise women’s health, and tackle the systemic barriers to equitable cancer treatment in South Africa. 

The Make Room for Her campaign, Project Flamingo’s focus in the coming months, is a call to action for all South Africans to recognise that cancer care should never be left to chance. It is an urgent reminder that, despite the personal and financial costs, ensuring dignified, timely access to treatment is not a privilege, but a basic human right. 

“This Mandela Day, we not only commemorated a rich history left by a remarkable man – we changed lives,” says Dr Liana Roodt, CEO and Founder of Project Flamingo. “Project Flamingo creates space for women to be heard, to be treated, and to reclaim their health and dignity. In doing so, we honour Madiba’s legacy through action rooted in compassion and a commitment to justice. Timely and dignified cancer care is not a privilege; it is a basic human right that should be protected and claimed." 

Project Flamingo calls on everyone to join this vital mission by partnering or donating to help fund critical equipment, resources, and programs that support not only the surgeries but the holistic care that women deserve. With the support of the community, Make Room for Her will continue to expand its impact, ensuring that every woman in South Africa has access to life-saving care and the dignity she deserves. 

For more information or to contribute to Make Room for Her, click here.