Dr. Mathume Joseph Phaahla was appointed Minister of Health South Africa in 2021. Prior to his appointment, he served as the Deputy Minister of Health.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, from Botswana, is the first woman to be elected as WHO Regional Director for Africa. Over the past five years, Dr. Moeti has led the transformation of WHO in Africa to ensure the Organization is accountable, effective, and driven by results.

Dr. Lindiwe Makubalo was appointed to the position of Assistant Regional Director in 2021. She oversees the Regional Offices' effort to strengthen the Coordination and Integration of functions. In addition, she is responsible for cross-cutting areas - Anti-microbial resistance, Diagnostics and Laboratory Services, Data Analytics and Knowledge Management, Research & Innovation, Integrated Service Delivery, as well as new units focusing on Strategic Development & Monitoring and Science & Innovation.

Dr Owen Laws Kaluwa is the Resident Representative for WHO in South Africa, the position he has been holding since 2020. Prior to his current appointment, Dr Kaluwa served as a WHO Country Representative for Ghana from 2015 to 2019 and WHO Country Representative for Eswatini from 2009 to 2015.

Dr. Adelheid Onyango was appointed Director of the Universal Health Coverage/ Healthier Populations Cluster in April 2021. She provides strategic leadership for the WHO and works with governments, development partners, civil society groups, and communities to promote and protect the health and well-being of all population groups in the WHO African Region.

Dr. Benido Impouma took up the office of Director of the Communicable and Noncommunicable Cluster in 2021. He is responsible for coordinating and leading the programs on HIV/TB, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, non-communicable diseases, vaccine-preventable diseases, and tropical and vector-borne diseases.

Dr Michelle Groome is a medical doctor and infectious disease, an epidemiologist. As Head of the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa, she oversees the country’s notifiable medical conditions surveillance program, disease-specific laboratory, and sentinel surveillance, a team of epidemiologists based in the provinces, the Outbreak Response Unit, and the Emergency Operating Centre.

Prof. Sheetal Silal is the Director of the Modelling and Simulation Hub, Africa (MASHA) and Associate Professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She is an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow in Tropical Disease Modelling at the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University.

Dr Elise Farley has worked for various non-profit organizations in Western, Central, and Southern Africa since 2007. Elise completed her Ph.D. in Public Health Medicine in 2020 with a focus on noma, a neglected tropical disease. Elise is currently living in Cape Town with her family and working as an epidemiologist with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme supporting the SARS-CoV-2 Unity studies initiative.

Dr Bwaka Ado is currently the Acting Team Leader for Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) program at the WHO/AFRO. He is a public health specialist and an epidemiologist with about 30 years of experience who has worked in different capacities both at national and international levels. He has a rich experience in expanded programs on immunization and polio eradication activities, disease surveillance, and primary health care and health systems strengthening.

Dr. Atuhebwe is an experienced vaccinologist and immunization expert, as well as a sexual and reproductive health specialist. She is currently the New Vaccines Introduction Medical Officer at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo. She coordinates the WHO’s work in the African region to introduce new vaccines and increase the uptake of underutilized vaccines.

Dr Saidou BALAM is an Associate professor of immunology at the Faculty of Medicine and Odonto-Stomatology (FMOS) at the University of Science, Technology, and Technology of Bamako (USTTB), Mali. He is also an Associate Researcher at the University Hospital of Regensburg (UKR), Germany. From 2007-2012, Dr. Balam was a research assistant and later obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Dr. BALAM obtained his MD in 2006 at the University of Bamako, Mali.

Dr Oliver (OJ) Watson is a Schmidt Science Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine working on mortality estimation methods for humanitarian crises. Oliver is also a visiting research fellow at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London, where he supports ongoing COVID-19 modelling efforts in support of quantifying the impact of COVID-19 vaccine campaigns worldwide.

Professor of Paediatric Neurology, Paediatrics, and Child Health. Founding Chair of the Malawi Immunizations Technical Advisory Group (MAITAG). He is the First Vice Chancellor of the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), which was established in May 2021 by the merger of the then College of Medicine and Kamuzu College of Nursing, both of which were constituent colleges of the University of Malawi.

Dr. Besigye Albert Tumusiime is the monitoring and evaluation specialist for the Expanded Program for Immunization (EPI), Ministry of Health, Uganda. He is a Health informatician by profession with Degree in Statistics and Economics, Post graduate diploma in Monitoring & Evaluation, and Master's in Health informatics.

Dr. Dahl has worked internationally since 1995 with a focus on disease surveillance in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the former Soviet Union and started working at CDC in 2000. Dr. Dahl started working at CDC in the Parasitic Disease Branch, focusing on Neglected Tropical Diseases, initially on lymphatic filariasis, then dracunculiasis (Guinea worm), and finally African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness).

Ros Hollingsworth is a Senior Program Officer within the Pneumonia & Pandemic Preparedness Team, leading the broadly protective influenza and coronavirus vaccine initiatives. Prior to joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ros spent 20 years in vaccines medical affairs and clinical research within the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, Ros was Global Medical Head for Influenza at Sanofi Pasteur, working with a team of physicians and scientists to develop and execute the global medical strategy for licensed influenza vaccines and to help guide pipeline research and development projects for influenza, RSV, and COVID-19.