Dira Sengwe - Board of Directors & Members

Prof. Coovadia is based in Durban, implementing documented research findings on maternal, newborn and child health. He was primarily involved in academic paediatrics during his tenure at UKZN. He has devoted his life to the pursuit of justice, democracy and freedom -- chairing the Mandela government’s first Commission on Maternal and Child Health, designing appropriate national policies and he headed the largest International AIDS Conference in Africa. His research into HIV transmission and treatment has been globally significant and he opposed the Mbeki administration’s AIDS policies. He has published more than 320 papers in national and international journals.

Mary Crewe is the Director of The Centre for the Study of AIDS at the University of Pretoria. This Centre seeks to develop new ways of looking at HIV and AIDS, promote critique and debate and find ways for the University and society to live through and beyond the epidemic. She was a founder member and co-chair of the AIDS Consortium and NACOSA and was the chair of the National Department of Education and Health Committee for HIV/AIDS education in schools.She works regularly with various UN agencies such as UNAIDS, UNICEF and UNESCO and is on the advisory board of the Ethical Globalisation Initiative developed by Mary Robinson. She has links with local, regional and international tertiary institutions, has published a book on AIDS and authored many articles.

Dr Grimwood, CEO of Kheth’Impilo, a NGO made up of HIV experienced health care professionals and community care workers supporting the National Department of Health’s comprehensive plan for HIV treatment, care and support. He started in Australia in the late 80’s and continued his work in South Africa since 1992, where he has worked extensively in both public and private sectors in HIV with a community health focus.

Dr Grimwood has been chair of NACOSA and currently serves on the boards of Yabonga, Triangle project and is also deputy chair for the Centre for Conflict Resolution. He was previously Executive Director of ARK SA, Deputy Director of SAHIVAC as well as Director of the HIV Research Unit, Secure the Future and also the Discovery HIVCare Advisory Board.

Lynn Morris, DPhil is a Chief Specialist Scientist and Head of the AIDS Unit at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in Johannesburg, South Africa and holds a joint appointment (Research Professor) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She completed her undergraduate degrees at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and received her DPhil from the University of Oxford in the U.K. in 1988. She was Chairperson of the South African AIDS Conference in 2005 and the International AIDS Vaccine Conference 2008 in Cape Town. She was elected to the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2005.

Dr Nono Simelela the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). She started in her new role on the 1st September 2009, less than a month ago. SANAC, which is chaired by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, is responsible for coordinating the national response to HIV and AIDS, STIs and TB and for overseeing the country's progress towards reaching the targets of the National Strategic Plan (the NSP). The overarching targets of the NSP are to initiate 80 percent of those needing treatment onto antiretrovirals and to halve the number of new infections by 2011.
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Dr Gustaaf Wolvaardt holds a Bachelors Degree in Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) (1983), a Masters Degree in Internal Medicine (M.Med) (1990) and a post graduate qualification in Higher Education (PGCHE) (2008) from the University of Pretoria. He is also a Fellow of the College of Physicians of South Africa and completed the Manchester Business School Advanced Management Programme in 1998.

In 1996 he initiated an international campaign on behalf of the South African Ministry of Health that resulted in violence being declared a public health priority by WHO. As Health Attaché he also actively promoted scientific and technical cooperation through the mobilization of research funding and through establishing various WHO Collaboration Centers in South Africa. Download full bio

For the last 25 years has been involved in the field of HIV medicine at various levels. These include,President of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society from 1998 to 2008; Editor of the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine; Consultant to various HIV management programmes both in the private and NGO sectors including the progra mmes of AngloAmerican, Goldfields, Discovery Health and various PEPFAR programmes; Currently a consultant virologist in the private sector at Toga Laboraories; Professor in the Department of Clinical Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria

Dr James McIntyre is Executive Director of the Anova Health Institute, in Johannesburg, and International Vice-Chair of the US NIH-funded International Maternal Paediatric and Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Network, the leading global collaborative HIV research network in women and children.

Dr McIntyre previously worked for 25 years at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in Soweto, South Africa, where he was the co-founder and Executive Director of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU) of the University of the Witwatersrand. He has been involved in research and programming on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV for more than twenty years.

Present employment:
Corporate Affairs Executive – Toga Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Previous employment:
Principal Medical Officer – Port Elizabeth Municipality.
National Director – Family Health International.
National Coordinator – Management Sciences for Health.
National Director – MESAB Palliative Care Initiative.
Corporate Affairs Executive – Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators.
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