SA: MSF Calls on Business Leaders to Drive Impact at Inaugural Golf Day in Johannesburg

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Southern Africa is calling on golf enthusiasts, business leaders, healthcare advocates, and humanitarians to take action at its inaugural Golf Day, an initiative aimed at raising critical funds to support its global medical humanitarian work amid mounting needs.

The event, scheduled for 6 May 2026 at the Randpark Firethorn Golf Course in Johannesburg, comes as the global humanitarian system faces significant strain following widespread funding cuts announced in 2025 by the US administration and several other key donor countries.

Operating in over 75 countries, MSF continues to deliver independent, life-saving medical care. However, the scale and complexity of today’s crises are intensifying, underscoring the urgent need for stronger collaboration between humanitarian organisations and the private sector.

Against this backdrop, the day will begin with a high-level breakfast discussion hosted by veteran journalist Tim Modise. The session will feature a keynote address by Precious Matsoso, director of the Health Regulatory Science Platform in the Division of Wits Health Consortium and the former director-general of the National Department of Health. It will be followed by a panel discussion bringing together humanitarian, community, and corporate voices to unpack the evolving humanitarian landscape and its implications for organisations like MSF and the people they serve.

“While we do not rely on government funding, global aid cuts are indirectly affecting our operations, as many of our partners and communities have lost financial support. We rely on networks of local and international organisations that work closely with us to provide medical assistance, as well as those that offer assistance for non-medical needs such as food, shelter, and protection. For example, when aid is cut to organisations normally assisting with food and nutrition, MSF’s clinics are filled with malnourished children. When shelter programmes are cut, MSF does not have anywhere to refer vulnerable patients to after hospital discharge," says Claire Waterhouse, Director of Advocacy and Analysis for MSF Southern Africa.

More than a sporting event, the MSF Golf Day serves as a strategic platform for companies seeking to strengthen their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives with meaningful, measurable impact. Investment from business leaders during this highly anticipated event has the potential to save and transform lives by expanding access to essential healthcare in communities facing urgent need.

The full-day programme includes on-course activations and networking opportunities, creating meaningful spaces for engagement between partners, stakeholders, and supporters. The day will conclude with an evening networking dinner featuring event highlights and a live auction in support of MSF’s work.

“By joining us on the golf course, business leaders will be making a powerful statement about the value of purpose-led leadership,” says Samantha Nobubele Mkandhla, MSF Southern Africa’s Head of Philanthropy. “This initiative creates an opportunity for companies to translate their CSR commitments into direct, measurable impact—at a time when the humanitarian funding gap is growing, and needs are escalating.”

For 54 years, MSF teams have gone where they are needed most to provide free, life-saving care, often in some of the world’s most challenging and under-resourced environments. Today, around 67,000 MSF staff continue to deliver critical assistance wherever and however it is needed.

At the core of this work are MSF’s 7.1 million generous donors worldwide, whose support enables the organisation to respond rapidly to crises. The Golf Day represents a key opportunity to expand this network of support and unlock new partnerships that can help meet growing needs.

About Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is a global network of principled medical and other professionals who specialise in medical humanitarian work, driven by our common humanity and guided by medical ethics. We strive to bring emergency medical care to people caught in conflicts, crises, and disasters in more than 70 countries worldwide.

In South Africa, we currently run a non-communicable diseases (NCDs) project in Butterworth, Eastern Cape province, where we support the Department of Health (DoH) in improving care for patients with diabetes and hypertension. The project focuses on improving screening, diagnosis, management, and prevention of NCDs through advocacy, research, health promotion, training, and mentorship of Community Healthcare Workers.

MSF is also recognised as one of the pioneers in providing antiretroviral treatment (ART) in the public sector. It started the first HIV programme in South Africa in 1999. The organisation's earlier interventions in the country have primarily been on developing new testing and treatment strategies for HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) in Eshowe (Kwa-Zulu Natal) and Khayelitsha (Western Cape). The Eshowe project was handed over to DoH in 2023 after 12 years of operations. The Khayelitsha project was closed in 2020 after 22 years of activities and campaigning for improved HIV and TB treatment.

Other projects we have been involved in include our Migrant Project in the country's capital, Tshwane, which was handed over to authorities and a local Community-Based Organisation after building the capacity to work with undocumented populations. We also previously offered free, high-quality, and confidential medical care to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Rustenburg, North West province.

To learn more about our work in South Africa, please visit this page on our website (www.msf.org.za). To support MSF’s work: