Plenary Speaker

Dr. Malebona Precious Matsoso

Plenary Topic: To build, strengthen and invest in Africa’s scientific capacity and manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics

Precious Matsoso is currently an Honorary Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology and the Director of Health Regulatory Science Platform, a division of the Wits Health Consortium. She was the Director General of Health for nine and a half years, She was the World Health Organisation Director for five and a half years. She has also been in a leadership role of the South African medicine regulatory agency. She has served in a number of advisory bodies both locally and internationally, which include the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response; the UN High level Panel on Access to Medical Technologies; the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee on Emergencies; the International Advisory Board of the Global Health Centre of the Graduate Institute of Geneva. She chaired the Southern African Development Community regulatory initiative. She chaired the Ministerial Advisory Committee on eHealth, and developed eHealth and digital health strategies. She rolled out a massive Health Patient Registration System with enrolment of over 44 million patients and healthcare users. She has led the World's largest HIV/AIDS programme with over 5 million people on treatment contributing to improved life expectancy in South Africa. She served as the Chair of the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation. She created the Public Health Enhancement Fund, a public private partnership for research capacity development, undergraduate medical training, health management and leadership training.