Cohsasa celebrates 30 years of strengthening healthcare quality across Africa

Cohsasa staff gathered around the spectacular 30th birthday cake in a particular order. Moving front left clockwise are staff who have been with the company the longest to the most recent in the front, right hand side. Pictured in “length of service” order are: Giel van Schalkwyk who has the privilege of cutting the cake, chief surveyor | Riel le Roux, quality advisor/surveyor | Marilyn Keegan, communications manager | Roselyne October, travel coordinator | Nadine Joubert, data and help desk operator | Jacqui Stewart, CEO of Cohsasa | Noleen Davids, databank clerk and help desk supervisor | Mtisunge Chiotha, ICT coordinator | Petra Sewing, quality advisor/surveyor | Firdousa Ajouhaar, project manager, quality advisor/surveyor | Leonard Londa, quality improvement manager | Sharon Wilson, accounts manager. Absent on the day: Kefuoe Qwela, databank clerk and help desk operator | Cheryl Adams, knowledge management and systems coordinator | Laetitia Antonides, accounts assistant

It was a happy and memorable occasion complete with a beautifully iced chocolate cake featuring Cohsasa’s 30-year anniversary badge.

CEO of Cohsasa, Jacqui Stewart, said it was a privilege to mark this milestone alongside a team that has stood by Cohsasa “through thick and thin", and to continue the work of strengthening health systems across Africa. She thanked everyone for their individual and team contributions.

Cohsasa marks its 30th anniversary with pride, reflecting on three decades of commitment to raising healthcare standards and ensuring patient safety across the African continent.

Highlights of the journey

• Founded in 1995 by Dr Stuart Whittaker, Cohsasa became Africa’s first dedicated healthcare accreditation body, with Louis Leipoldt Hospital in Cape Town as the first private accredited institution.
  
• By 1997, Cohsasa had accredited Addington Hospital in Durban, the first public-sector facility, and continued to support public hospitals across several provinces.
  
• Expansion throughout the 2000s brought Cohsasa’s work to Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Namibia, and Malawi. In 2012, Cohsasa partnered with
• Botswana’s Ministry of Health to develop national quality standards and accreditation frameworks.
  In 2019, Cohsasa co-hosted the ISQua conference in Cape Town, making history as the first such event held in Africa.

Current impact and innovation

• As of 2025, Cohsasa has awarded 717 Full Accreditations and 954 overall awards to healthcare facilities across the continent.
  
• Cohsasa pioneered the Graded Recognition Programme to assist facilities starting their accreditation journey and developed CoQIS (Quality Improvement Information System) and PatSIS, an incident-reporting platform for real-time tracking of adverse events and near-misses.

Recognition and partnerships

• Cohsasa has maintained six consecutive ISQua accreditations from 2002 to 2027, underscoring its consistency in meeting global quality benchmarks set by The International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua).
  
• Longstanding collaborations with international organisations, including the WHO, MSH, PharmAccess, the Association of Palliative Care Centres (APCC), and Stellenbosch University, highlight Cohsasa’s role in shaping healthcare policy, palliative care accreditation, and research.

Looking ahead

“As we celebrate 30 years, our commitment to advancing safe, quality care continues stronger than ever,” says Cohsasa CEO, Jacqui Stewart. “We remain dedicated to transforming healthcare across Africa, and invite institutions and stakeholders to join us in the next chapter.”

For more information or enquiries about accreditation and quality improvement tools, please contact:
Email: queries@Cohsasa.co.za
Phone: +27 21 531 4225
Address: 6 Herschel Road, Claremont, Cape Town 7708, South Africa
Website: www.Cohsasa.co.za