Dr J Barnes          
University of Stellenbosch

Dr Barnes is a senior lecturer in epidemiology and community health at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch at Tygerberg.  Her particular field of interest is environmental epidemiology and especially waterborne diseases.  She has been studying dense settlements around the Boland and sanitation systems and the adjacent rivers for the past 10 years.

The studies carried out by Dr Barnes over the last few years can be divided into scientific (laboratory-based) and community-based projects.  The community-based studies were designed to empower the community to help lessen the impact of sewage pollution on the nearby river.  During the community-based studies, she designed two education campaigns for the dense settlement with input from some of the community leaders. She trained a team of community health educators to carry the messages from door to door.  She designed and made the education materials (pamphlets, posters and demonstration models of blocked pipes) herself.

In the scientific studies, Dr Barnes investigated the bacterial pollution loads and chemical parameters of the water from several rivers.  She investigated the antibiotic resistance of some of the organisms as well as their chlorination resistance in order to determine whether such water can be made safe for human consumption by small-scale users downstream.  She found excessively high levels of bacterial pollution, as well as many other potentially dangerous disease-causing organisms and alarming levels of antibiotic resistance of organisms in the water.  She also found that small-scale water purification works would be unable to purify such water for human consumption by means of chlorination.

Dr Barnes is a recipient of the Order of the Disa in 2007 for meritorious services to the Province of the Western Cape, winner of the Women in Water, Sanitation and Forestry Award 2007 for the category Education and Awareness for awareness created on contamination of rivers, winner of the Cape Times/Caltex Environmental Award 2005 for the research work on contaminations of rivers and recipient of the Faculty of Health Sciences Award for Community Service for 2007.

Prof Crick Lund
University of Cape Town

Crick Lund, BA (Hons), MA, MSocSci (Clinical Psychology), PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town. He is currently Director of the Mental Health and Poverty Project, a study on mental health policy development and implementation in Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.  He trained as a clinical psychologist at the University of Cape Town and has previously worked for the World Health Organisation (WHO), on the development of the WHO Mental Health Policy and Service Guidance Package, and consulted to Lesotho, Namibia and Indonesia on mental health policy and planning.  His research interests lie in mental health policy, service planning and the relationship between poverty and mental health.

Dr Jane Mukarugwiza Olwoch
University of Pretoria

Dr Jane Mukarugwiza Olwoch is a biologist with a research focus on the relationship between climate variability/change, and vectors and vectors diseases.  Her extensive research on Climate Change, ticks, tick-borne diseases in Sub-Sahara Africa has been published in international peer-review journals and presented in numerous international and national congresses. Her current research on the effects of climate variability/change, pollution and heat waves on malaria specifically and human health in general has earned her international recognition. She is now part of an international consortium that is Quantifying Impacts of Climate and Weather on Health in Developing Countries.  She has also been recently selected Lead Author of Chapter 11, Human Health, of the working group 2 to IPCC, fifth Assessment Report (AR5) (2010-2014).  She is a Senior Lecturer and coordinator of Environmental Science degree program in the department of Geography, Geo-informatics and Meteorology at University of Pretoria.

Prof Solomon Tshimong Rataemane
University of Limpopo
Prof Solomon Tshimong Rataemane is the head of Department of Psychiatry at the University of Limpopo (MEDUNSA CAMPUS in Pretoria). He has special interest in child psychiatry, mood disorders and addiction medicine. He has served as deputy chairperson and chairperson of the Central Drug Authority of South Africa from 1995 to 2005. He is currently involved with UCLA Substance Abuse Program in collaborative research to improve Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for counsellors at SANCA Clinics in South Africa. He is a Board member of ICAA (International Council on Alcohol and Addictions) and serves on the Health Committee of the Health Professions Council of South Africa assisting in physicians’ health management. He is also a member of the examinations committee of the HPCSA. He has served as Deputy Dean Clinical Affairs; Interim Executive Dean; Assistant DVC; Interim DVC of the Health Sciences Faculty of the University of Limpopo at different stages. The current engagements include an effort to develop policy and protocols for management of substance abuse. He was appointed Deputy Chair of the Medical Research Council of South Africa for the triennium 2007 – 2010, and also serves third term as member of the Colleges of Psychiatry (2 terms as senator and current three year term as ordinary member of college o Psychiatry)
He is a member of the following organizations:

• South African Society of Psychiatrists
• Health Professions Council of South Africa (Health and Examinations Committees and the Medical and Dental Board) until May 2010
• International Council on Alcohol and Addictions)
• Dr George Mukhari Hospital (Chief Psychiatrist)
• World Psychiatric Association (Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution Committee) and also Board Member and Sub-Saharan Representative (Zone 14)
• World Association for Social Psychiatry
• Mentor Foundation for assisting youth with alcohol & drug addiction
• Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (Member of College of Psychiatry)
• American Psychiatric Association

Dr Mvuyo Tom
University of Fort Hare

Dr Tom is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fort Hare. He has previously served in various positions at the same university starting as Head of the School of Public Management and Development,  Acting Dean of Management and Commerce and as Deputy Vice Chancellor.

A medical doctor by profession he holds a MB ChB degree from the University of Natal and a Master of Family Medicine, (University of Witwatersrand). He also holds a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management (University of London).

He previously served as Director-General of the Eastern Cape, Advisor to the Eastern Cape Premier and as the Permanent Secretary for Department of Health and Welfare.

He produced various reports and plans in public management and his interests are in public policy and development in the fields of health and education.

He is a recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights.

Prof Olalekan (‘Lekan) Ayo-Yusuf

‘Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, BDS, MSc, MPH, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He teaches in the University’s Department of Community Dentistry and at the School of Health Systems and Public Health. Lekan is also currently a visiting scientist to the Division of Public Health Practice of the Harvard University School of Public Health.

Having previously served as a hospital manager/superintendent, Lekan has rapidly gained recognition as a leading expert in tobacco control research and dental public health. He has trained health workers, dental and medical school students in providing tobacco use cessation support. He has been at the forefront of research into the composition and health effects of smokeless tobacco products used in South Africa, and have been actively collaborating with advocacy groups and researchers in the United States, Europe, and Africa. He has provided expert opinion to the health portfolio committee of the SA parliament. He played a vital role in passing some amendments to the tobacco legislation in South Africa.

In addition to several published papers, he has presented several scientific papers at both local and international scientific meetings. He has served and continues to serve as a scientific reviewer for several research organisations such as the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Gates Foundation’s Africa tobacco control initiative. He currently serves as a member of the editorial board of a number of scientific journals, including Tobacco Control and the American Journal of Health Behaviour.

Lekan is an active member of a number of local and international professional organisations and he has received several local and international research awards. He is a member of the 13-member WHO scientific advisory group on tobacco regulation (WHO TobReg), charged with providing member states with evidence-based recommendations for tobacco control. He is currently serving as the principal investigator of a regional capacity building initiative in tobacco control with the support of the American Cancer Society.