Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been hailed for his commitment to healthcare in South Africa and the world.
Birthday wishes and tributes are pouring in for the Nobel Laureate on his 90th birthday on Thursday.
Tutu has over the years supported a host of organisations and foundations which promote access to health particularly related to the treatment of HIV, TB and cancer.
Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, Professor Linda-Gail Bekker says, “He coined the term that this is the new apartheid, referring to HIV and called on all of us to recognise that individuals living with HIV need just as much love, recognition, awareness and basic health care provisions as anybody else, and that they should be enveloped in the circle of humanity.”
Financial resources
The Tygerberg Children’s Hospital Trust has thanked Tutu for his association with the Trust over the years.
Tutu and his wife, Leah, are the patrons of the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital Trust.
CEO of the Trust, Jason Falken says about 60% of the population of the province have a footprint at the hospital and being associated with Tutu name helped to garner financial resources.
Falken says, “Just as an example, this year alone, the trust has spent over R3 million just for critical equipment needed for example at our neo-natal ward in support of our premature babies, none of that would have been possible without the patronage of the Arch and Ma Leah. So that is just a small example of how their patronage has boiled down to a very practical way of helping our kids.”
Below are birthday wishes on Twitter:
We extend our warmest congratulations to Archbishop #DesmondTutu who celebrates his 90th birthday today. You continue to remind us that fellowship, solidarity, charity & compassion for the vulnerable are values common to us all, and we should strive to live by them each day. pic.twitter.com/0WaNLucZKu
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? #VoteANC (@CyrilRamaphosa) October 7, 2021
Happy 90th birthday Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Thank you for making this world a better place through honouring your truth and speaking truth to power on matters of justice, integritity, forgiveness and peace #TutuTurns90 #TutuPL2021 #TuTuLegacy pic.twitter.com/RkMW3WaQJj
— Prof Thuli Madonsela #MelosKingdom (@ThuliMadonsela3) October 7, 2021
It’s Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s 90th Birthday today? ? ?
We were stronger together & socially cohesive. Tutu’s Rainbow Nation had never been brighter too ?That is until the DA decided to put up THOSE controversial election posters of theirs?☹️??♂️ pic.twitter.com/i5PWwtR3B5
— Vusi Sambo (@VusiSambo) October 7, 2021
Today is the 90th birthday of one of the most revered moral leaders in the world, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Here, in a podcast series to mark the 20th anniversary of the TRC, he reflects on the long battles for justice and freedom, and morality. https://t.co/NsccRLREZn
— Pippa Green (@green_pippa) October 7, 2021
Archbishop of the World Desmond Tutu celebrates his 90th birthday on this day.
Nothing to my mind speaks to character like the manner in which he asserts one of his most famous propositions:
“God is not Christian” pic.twitter.com/UqaUnpp6cp
— Chrispin Phiri ?? (@Chrispin_JPhiri) October 7, 2021
In our African worldview, the greatest good is communal harmony. Anything that subverts or undermines this greatest good is ipso facto wrong, evil. Anger and a desire for revenge are subversive of this good thing.
Desmond Tutu
Happy 90th birthday to this beautiful human being pic.twitter.com/klvjxAScPM
— Andre Vlok (@vlok_andre) October 7, 2021
Happy 90th Birthday to the “Arch” – Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Thank you for standing up against injustice and promoting peace. @TheDesmondTutu @TutuFellows pic.twitter.com/dIxTzgrDMX
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) October 7, 2021
Happy 90th birthday to Archbishop Desmond Tutu aka “I am warning you” ??
— Ziyanda Sibeko (@sibekoziyanda) October 7, 2021
