THE SAHPRA BOARD

Helen has over 250 academic publications to her name, 400 invited plenary and keynote addresses, she has chaired over 200 national and international scientific and policy committees, and contributed to the organisation of more than 100 conferences.

Helen has chaired many national and international committees and is currently chair of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, a member of South Africa’s National Advisory Group on Immunization and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the South African National Institute of Communicable Diseases.  Helen is Chair of the WHO’s African Regional Immunisation Technical Advisory Group, Chair of WHO’s Emergency Committee on Polio and Co-Chair of WHO’s Working Group on Ebola vaccines.

For the past few years Helen has been very involved in national, regional and global response efforts to COVID-19 including the development of COVID-19 vaccines, their potential rollout and utilization.  Helen is currently a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 and a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines and Chairs the MAC COVID-19 Variant and Vaccines Technical Working Group. Helen is a member of the WHO IHR Emergency Committee on COVID-19. Helen is a member of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) Board and chairs the Gavi Programme and Policy Committee. She is a member of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI) Board and chairs the CEPI Scientific Advisory Committee. She is a member of the COVAX committee on COVID-19 maternal immunisation. and a member of the WHO Working Group on COVID-19 vaccines. With her Gavi, CEPI and WHO are jointly driving the global COVID vaccine effort including the COVAX facility, and Helen is also involved with the oversight of the COVAX facility.

Helen has received many national and international awards for her contribution to African health and global health including being made an Officer of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for her contribution to global health, and being awarded the Order of the Baobab, one of South Africa’s highest honours, for her contribution to maternal and child health, as well as both Lifetime and Gold awards for her distinguished contribution to science, global health and women’s health by the South African Academy of Science, the South African Medical Association, the South African Department of Science and Technology, BHP Billetin and the Oppenheimer Foundation respectively. She received a lifetime achievement award from the pan-African NGO Amanitare for her contribution to improving the lives of African women and girls. She was made the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s 2014 International Heath Clarke lecturer awarded to an outstanding global health practitioner. Her most recent accolade is being awarded the L’ordre national du Mérite (National Order of Merit) by the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, in recognition of her groundbreaking and outstanding medical career in February 2022 and in March 2022, the South African Ministerial COVID-19 Special Award at the National Batho Pele Excellence Awards in the Platinum Category in recognition of her contributions to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Obakeng also has a Post graduate Diploma in Occupational Medicine from the University of Pretoria. She sits in a number of expert committee boards as Vice Chairperson- this includes the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases. She is also an aspiring lawyer as she is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Laws with the University of South Africa.

Obakeng is still practicing as a Medical Doctor under the Tshwane District Health Services on a contractual basis for the National Health Insurance pilot project.

He is results driven as evident from his achievements: Won Employee of the year: 2007 (Pharmaceutical Industry); Improved South Africa’s Clinical Research department global KPIs in first year as ICRO- Manager from ranking 40/44 to 22/44.

Successively obtained index 120 (Exceed target 2006-2013) for clinical trial Balance Score Card (BSC).

He was a member of the senior management team that won the Delloite and Touche Best Company to work for in 2013 (Pharmaceutical).

Ditaba is an Entrepreneurial self-starter who , with excellent interpersonal and communication skills, avid networking and client relations management, founded, managed and grew organisations in the Management, Education, Training and Development space – Fulloutput Fullgrowth Coaching and Mentorship NPC, has steered the ship of Chililo Trading and Projects cc in the Construction, Training and Development space, was member of the Senior Management Team which assisted in the establishment of the Electronic  Communications Security Services (COMSEC) (Pty) Ltd, a function within the National Intelligence Agency of SA. Spanning four decades of experience in the private & public sector, Ditaba has been exposed to business processes in conferences and workshops at various organizations in South Africa, across Europe (Germany, Switzerland, and Netherlands & London), UAE (Qatar) & South East Asia (Malaysia).

Other achievements include success in Corporate Human Capital Development (HCD) support to various organisations in the South African context: A Chartered Human Resources Professional (CHRP) at the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP), a certified Associate HR Auditor (SABPP) and  Commissioner of Oaths. Ditaba is a Certified Ethics Officer–(EO908 USB-ED: TEI) and operates DL Maraka Psychometrists, an Independent Practice with focus on Psychometric Assessments. She is Accredited Facilitator on a wide range of Assessment tools: JvR (MBTI, Hogan, EQ, META, and EQ-I 2.0); Thomas International (PPA, GIA/TST, TEI-Que, and HPTI); Career Guidance Mindmuzik tools (Independent Contractor with Sci-Bono on Career Guidance Centre); Knowledge Resources Agile HR ICAgile for ICP-AHR.

Past and Current Governance Experience include: Chaired the HR Committee of the Board: Lepelle Northern Water LNW- Member of the Board and Audit Committee; Member of the Board of LIBSA; IIC in the Curriculum Design, Organizational Design, Panel of Experts in ETD at the National School of Government (NSG); Member of the Audit Council of the (SABPP);  Member of the Board of the South African Library for the Blind (SALB-DSAC); Chairperson: HR Committee of the William Humphrey’s Art Gallery (WHAG-DSAC); Classifier of Films, Interactive Computer Games and Certain Publications with the South African Films and Publications Board (FPB); Council Member : The Heraldry Council SA-DSAC; Member: Psychometrics Committee for Professional Board for Psychology (HPCSA); Member of Board of the Gauteng Gambling Board; Member of the Board Of the CBE, Member of Board and Chair of the HRREMCO  at SAHPRA.

Ditaba’s Qualifications and Professional Memberships include :  Bachelors of Arts (UNISA-Education, African Languages, Psychology NDP); Further Diploma in Education (RAU/UJ); Masters Diploma in Human Resources Management (RAU/UJ);Bachelors of Education (UNISA); BA Hons in African Languages (UP);Chartered HR Professional (SABPP);Associate HR Auditor (SABPP);Certified Ethics Officer (University of Stellenbosch -USB-ED in collaboration with The Ethics Institute –TEI SA); Psychometrist –Independent Practice (Health Professions Council of South Africa -HPCSA); COMENSA; IRMSA; Kolbe Profiling Institute –Specialist; Business Ethics network Africa-BEN-Africa; IoDSA (M.Inst.D); Specialist Wellness Counsellors (SWC)-Association for Supportive Counsellors and Holistic Practitioners (ASCHP); Advanced Religious Professional in Christian Pastoral Counselling-ACRP/CPSC.

He is currently the Chairperson of the Heads of Schools of Pharmacy under the auspices of South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC), a Task Team Member for SAPC for both Pre-Registration and Professional Exams, Expert Member for SAPC in Pharmaceutics for BPharm accreditation, a Moderator/Examiner for SAPC for Pre-registration and Professional exams, a Member of PSSA, a Member of SAAPI, Task Team Member for the Council on High Education (CHE) for BPharm programme, and Member of the Board of Trustees of SMU Retirement Fund.

Prof. Demana is a past recipient of the Upjohn Outstanding Young Scientist Award from APSSA. He was a member of Pharmaceutical & Analytical (P&A) Committee of the Medicines Control Council (MCC) for 7 years.  Prof Demana holds BSc (Hons) (Pharmacy) degree from Liverpool John Moores University (UK), MSc (Pharmaceutics) from Rhodes University, and PhD (Pharmaceutics) from University of Otago (NZ).

He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the area of drug discovery and development at Emory University (USA) under the tutelage of Prof Dennis Liotta who is the inventor of emtricitabine and zidovudine. Prof Demana currently holds a patent as a co-inventor in medicated chewing gum formulation, and another patent is currently under review in the field of traditional plant remedies.

She has served in various positions in the health sector including hospitals, the pharmaceutical sector, managed healthcare, risk management and as a consultant. Adv Cassim also serves on the Department of Health’s Pricing Committee and has recently been appointed to the SAHPRA board.

Additionally, Dr Ngobese holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Management College of Southern Africa and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in management sciences specialising in business administration achieved at the Durban University of Technology and presently completing his Post Graduate Diploma in Supply Chain Management at Regent Business School.

She is currently the Chairperson of the UFS Faculty Research and Postgraduate Committee. Previously she was the Chairperson of the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, and Chairperson of the respective Executive Management and Board of the School of Nursing and Public Health at UKZN. She is also a member of research and scientific review and advisory committees that include the Free State Health Provincial Health Research Committee, the National Health Research Committee, Scientific Sub-Committee of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Food Security, Neglected Tropical Diseases Advisory Forum for the National Department of Health, Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) Scientific and Research Technical Task Team, and Sub-Committee for Research of the South African Committee of Medical Deans.

Prof. Tsoka-Gwegweni is an established academic and scientist with more than 27 years of public health research experience and expertise. She concurrently holds positions of an Associate Professor at UFS and Honorary Professor of Public Health at UKZN. Previously she occupied positions of a Senior Scientist and Scientist at the SAMRC. Prof Tsoka-Gwegweni holds a range of qualifications in Public Health, Social and Biological Sciences that include a PhD from UKZN; a Master of Public Health from the University of the Western Cape; a Master of Science from UKZN; a Bachelor of Arts Honours from UNISA; a Bachelor of Science Honours from Reading University, UK; and a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Research Ethics; as well as leadership and management qualifications.

Prof. Meyer chairs the ministerial advisory National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee, and in this capacity, serves on the National Advisory Group on Immunisation. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked with the National Department of Health and SAHPRA to establish the COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Surveillance network for South Africa. This included the introduction of the Med Safety App for the reporting of adverse events following immunisation and suspected adverse drug reactions, as part of the African Union Smart Safety Solutions (AU-3S) 10-year programme to strengthen pharmacovigilance across Africa. She currently chairs the AU-3S Joint Signal Management Group, aimed at facilitating cross-country signal management for COVID-19 vaccines in Africa, to support action in the interest of public health and safety.

Prof. Meyer is well established as an academic and researcher. She is a National Research Foundation Category C2 rated scientist and specialises in vaccine safety, vaccination as an important pillar of antimicrobial stewardship, vaccine hesitancy and rational medicine use. She collaborates with researchers across Africa and internationally, has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals, presented multiple peer-reviewed papers at national/international meetings, and has supervised more than 80 postgraduate students to completion. She has been the recipient of various research/academic presentation awards, received two SMU Vice Chancellor’s Research Excellence Awards in 2018 and the Distinguished Community Scholar Excellence Award in 2021. She is a core member of the SMU Research Ethics Committee and is as an active member of various professional societies including the PSSA, SAAHIP, MURIA, SASOCP, ISPE and ISOP.

She holds the following qualifications: Master’s Degree in Medical Science from the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN), B-Tech Degree in Biomedical Technology (DUT), a Diploma in Biomedical Technology (DUT) and a certificate program in Total Quality Management from UNISA. She passed the professional board of Medical Technology and was registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a Medical Technologist specialising in Clinical Pathology.

Ms Skhosana has extensive experience in in-vitro diagnostics, clinical trials and in pharmaceutical product development quality control. She has held various positions in public and private laboratories. She spent several years with the Medical Research Council of South Africa, coordinating the implementation of various clinical trials.

Her recent appointment was as a Regional Laboratory Advisor by the Centre for Aids Programmes at the University of Columbia (ICAP at Columbia University), where she was a Technical Advisor for a Multinational Population- based HIV survey in the SADEC Region.

She has served, and continues to serve, in various Business and Professional Associations.

He received many prestigious awards recognising his pioneering research in the areas of targeted drug delivery, nanomedicine, drug-eluting devices, neuro-therapeutics and bio-inspired regenerative medicine. As a top cited researcher in the field, he has authored >310 ISI-accredited publications and also serves as Editor/Associate Editor and Reviewer on several high impact-factor journals.

He is passionately committed to supervising and mentoring young researchers in his areas of expertise with >110 postgraduates and postdocs mentored over his career. Many of his students (mentees) are now his colleagues and recipients of prestigious awards/accolades such as GYA and SAYAS Membership, Wits Faculty of Health Sciences’ Most Prestigious PhD Degree Awardees on several occasions, included among M&G’s Top 200 Young South Africans, Research Chairs and selected to serve on a host of global bodies such as the ORCID Researcher Advisory Council, Executive of the Controlled Release Society (CRS, UK) SA Chapter and the IAP Young Physician’s Leader initiative, among many others. Leading by example, he also serves as an expert member making key contributions to many science councils/professions/funding bodies such as the AAS, ASSAF, TWAS, FIP, AAPS, CRS, ACS, SAYAS, SAAPI, PSSA, CLF, NRF, SAMRC, TIA, BRICS, AMATA and the SAPC.

Prof. Choonara has also received the 2021 Wits Vice-Chancellor’s Innovation Award and earlier the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) of South Africa Top Intellectual Property Creator Award as a leading inventor of 43 patents in the pharmaceutical sciences.