Shining light from Lesotho: Dr Maletela Tuoane’s legacy in global statistics

GENERAL George Patton, a World War figure, would say, "knowing what killed the dead can save the living." In 2016, when Dr Maletela Tuoane told me she intended to leave Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) for a job at the World Bank, I asked her to attend a meeting on a Saturday with the aim to persuade her from leaving the mighty organisation.

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However, ultimately after a day-long deliberation, she still had decided that she had made the right decision.

Eleven years later, on 24 March, when I penned, “Mourning Statistics: The consequences of Trump’ policies on global health" in Business Report, it brought to mind the significant contributions she had made to Cause of Death statistics at StatsSA.

Little did I know that I had played "The Murder She Wrote." Two weeks later, Tuoane would take her last breath on April 7 and depart the world of the living. A distraught message from Malerato Mosiane, who now lives in New Zealand, would wake me up to this sad news, and thereafter was an outpouring of grief.

In the article, I had pointed out that I was left with the choice of mourning the demise of statistics or the demise of my cousin.

When I got back to the office, I repeatedly focused on asking the question of mourning. In the article of April 24, I wrote as though in "The Murder She Wrote." Then Dr Tuoane, who headed the causes of death division at StatsSA, came with an institutional solution of turning doctors into cause-of-death reporting advocates. A course for doctors was arranged, and the medics began a programme on cause of death very much to their delight, despite my heavy scepticism towards them after I was subjected toa difficult choice of mourning statistics or the demise of my cousin.

At the World Bank, where Maletela had worked tirelessly, a memorial service was held on Friday, and speaker after speaker commented on the contribution Maletela brought to this entity on matters of life and the importance of leaving traces of greatness of each individual who inhabits this planet.