Delivered by the Chief Legal Officer, SayPro
Date: 06 May 2025
Theme: “Honoring the Heart of Healthcare”
Good morning, SayPro team, healthcare professionals, valued guests, and most importantly—our exceptional nurses.
Today, on National Nurses Day 2025, I stand before you not just as the Chief Legal Officer of SayPro, but as a deeply grateful member of a system that thrives because of your unwavering dedication, compassion, and courage.
The law is often seen as a world of rules, regulations, and structure. But at its core, the legal profession—much like nursing—is about protection, justice, and upholding dignity. And today, I am here to honor those who do that not in courtrooms, but in clinics, hospitals, homes, and communities across South Africa and beyond.
Nurses are not just care providers; you are guardians of public health, defenders of the vulnerable, and first responders to injustice in the health system. Every day, you operate on the frontlines where ethical choices and human rights intersect. You advocate for your patients’ needs. You speak up when something isn’t right. And you do so, often, without recognition or the legal protection you deserve.
At SayPro, particularly through our Centre for Medical Resources (CMR), we recognize that to truly support nurses, we must ensure that you are not only celebrated, but legally protected, empowered, and respected.
That’s why, in 2025, we are proud to strengthen our legal commitments to nurses through:
- The SayPro Health Workers’ Rights and Protection Framework, ensuring that every nurse working with us has a clear legal avenue for reporting mistreatment, discrimination, or unsafe conditions.
- Pro bono legal support for community-based nurses, especially those serving in high-risk or remote environments.
- New workplace policy reforms that align with global labor rights standards—because advocacy starts at home.
- Legal training and awareness sessions to ensure every nurse knows their rights and how to assert them safely and confidently.
These are not just policy changes—they are a reflection of our belief that respect must be institutionalized, not just verbalized.
To every nurse in the SayPro family: You are not invisible in the legal framework—we see you, we hear you, and we defend you. You uphold the highest standards of care, and it is our duty to uphold the highest standards of protection for you.
On behalf of the entire legal division at SayPro, I thank you. I honor you. And I pledge to stand with you—not just today, but every day that you continue your mission.
Happy National Nurses Day 2025.
May justice, dignity, and safety follow you wherever your service takes you.
[Neftaly Malatjie]
Chief Legal Officer
SayPro