Date: 17 May 2025
Location: Midrand
Speaker: Keamogetswe Toka, Chief Finance Officer, SayPro
[Opening – Greeting and Acknowledgement]
Good morning, distinguished guests, partners, colleagues, and friends.
It is a privilege to address you today on World Hypertension Day 2025. As the Chief Finance Officer of SayPro, I am proud to stand beside fellow leaders who are working tirelessly to build healthier, more resilient communities across our continent.
This year’s theme — “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer” — reminds us that good health is not only a human right, but a smart investment.
[Linking Finance and Health: Why It Matters]
At SayPro, we often talk about development through empowerment. But as a finance executive, I see clearly how health is the foundation of economic strength.
When people are sick, they cannot work. When they don’t know they are sick, the costs — both human and economic — grow silently.
Hypertension alone is costing developing nations billions in lost productivity, healthcare costs, and avoidable deaths.
That’s why investing in prevention is not just a moral decision — it’s a financial imperative.
[SayPro’s Role in Strategic Investment]
SayPro recognises this. That’s why we allocate resources not only toward operational growth, but toward impact-driven programmes that create long-term health dividends.
Through budget-conscious planning and strong partnerships, we have expanded our community outreach efforts, scaled our digital health education, and ensured accountability in the way our funds are used — transparently, ethically, and effectively.
This year, I’m especially proud that SayPro is funding the rollout of our Digital Health Education Toolkit, and supporting free blood pressure screenings in both urban and rural communities throughout May.
It is a model of how targeted funding, supported by data and collaboration, can transform lives at scale.
[The Business Case for Better Health]
For our partners in the private sector:
Supporting health education is not charity — it’s smart business.
Healthy communities lead to stronger economies, more stable workforces, and reduced healthcare costs. A small investment in awareness today can prevent massive costs tomorrow — for governments, for families, and for companies.
And for governments and donors:
Let’s prioritise funding for preventative care, early detection, and education. Let’s make health financing proactive, not reactive.
[Call to Action – Finance with Purpose]
So my call to all of us today is this:
Let’s fund wisely, let’s invest sustainably, and let’s finance with purpose.
- Every budget line should reflect a commitment to long-term well-being.
- Every donation, grant, and partnership should be driven by impact.
- And every strategy must see health not as a cost — but as a catalyst for change.
Together, we can build a future where no one dies from hypertension simply because they didn’t know, or couldn’t afford to care.
[Closing – A Shared Responsibility]
At SayPro, we are committed to turning resources into results — and numbers into lives changed.
To our teams, our funders, and our partners: thank you for believing in sustainable impact.
Let us move forward today not just as health advocates, but as health investors — because the returns are not measured in profits, but in years of life, dignity, and opportunity.
Happy World Hypertension Day 2025.
Let’s measure. Let’s act. Let’s invest in life.
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