The Breast Centres Initiative
Building a more consistent standard of breast healthcare across Southern Africa.
The BIGOSA Breast Centres Initiative is a long-term programme to establish a network of accredited multidisciplinary breast centres across Southern Africa.
The initiative provides a framework for how breast healthcare should be organised and delivered, helping ensure patients receive coordinated, evidence-based care regardless of where they are treated.
By supporting consistent standards across institutions, BIGOSA aims to strengthen multidisciplinary care and improve patient outcomes throughout the region.
Why the initiative matters
Breast healthcare has become increasingly specialised. Patients often require input from surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, oncologists, breast care nurses and allied healthcare professionals throughout their treatment journey.
While many centres already deliver excellent care, approaches can vary between institutions, disciplines and healthcare settings.
The Breast Centres Initiative has been established to help create greater consistency by defining a shared framework for multidisciplinary breast care.
The objective is not to replace clinical judgement, but to support best practice through agreed standards and collaboration.
A framework built on collaboration
The Breast Centres Initiative has been developed through extensive collaboration between clinicians, professional societies and healthcare stakeholders.
It is informed by international best practice while recognising the unique challenges and opportunities within Southern Africa.
The framework is designed to support practical implementation across both public and private healthcare settings.
What the initiative aims to achieve
The Breast Centres Initiative seeks to:
- Establish consistent standards for multidisciplinary breast care
- Strengthen collaboration between healthcare disciplines
- Improve coordination throughout the patient journey
- Encourage evidence-based practice
- Support quality improvement across participating centres
- Create a framework that can evolve alongside advances in breast healthcare
A long-term commitment
The Breast Centres Initiative represents an important step in BIGOSA's broader commitment to improving breast healthcare across Southern Africa.
By bringing together clinicians, healthcare institutions and professional organisations around shared standards, the initiative aims to create lasting improvements in the quality and consistency of breast care.
Built on recognised clinical evidence
The Breast Centres Initiative is underpinned by nationally developed consensus work and informed by international models of multidisciplinary breast care.
As supporting publications and implementation resources become available, they will be made accessible through the BIGOSA Resources Library.
Register your interest
Healthcare institutions, clinicians and organisations interested in learning more are invited to register.