Tlaleng Mofokeng | |
|---|---|
 Mofokeng speaks at Access Now RightsCon in 2021 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of KwaZulu-Natal |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Employer(s) | Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital United Nations |
| Website | DrTlaleng.com |
Tlaleng Mofokeng is a South African physician who is the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health. She campaigns for universal health access and HIV care. [1] She was named one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021.
Mofokeng was born in QwaQwa. [2] She was an undergraduate student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine. She graduated in 2007, and worked as a medical doctor in the Gauteng Health Department. [2] She worked in pediatrics at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and the West Rand clinics, as well as overseeing various health services. [2] [3]
Mofokeng worked at Higher Education and Training HIV/AIDS Program (HEAIDS) on an educational video series to mitigate HIV in South Africa. She also presented medical documentaries for Al Jazeera. In 2015, Mofokeng joined International SOS, where she was responsible for medical care in Johannesburg. In this capacity, she served as Chair of the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition of South Africa. [4]
Mofokeng has focused on gender equality, neonatal health, and the management of HIV. She was made the country lead of Global Doctors for Choice in 2017 and Commissioner for Gender Equality in 2019. She has taken on domestic violence in court, making use of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. [5]
In July 2020, Mofokeng was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health. [5] [6] [7] She is the first woman and first African to hold this position. [8] She was appointed to the board of directors of the International Partnership for Microbicides in 2021, and serves as Distinguished Lecturer at Georgetown University. [9] [10]
Mofokeng usually goes under the title "Dr. T". [11] Her first book, Dr. T: A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure, a bestseller, was published by Picador in 2021. [12] The Sunday Sun described how "the magic is contained in its warm, motherly, vulnerable and non-judgmental delivery". [12] She is leading the delivery of Sentebale, a mobile app that supports the physical and mental wellbeing of young people in Africa impacted by HIV. [13]
Mofokeng is an advocate for universal health access and adolescent health. She serves as an advisor of the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health Gender & Health Hub. [14]
HIV-positive people, seropositive people or people who live with HIV are people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus which if untreated may progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:
Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Sexual and reproductive health is more commonly defined as sexual and reproductive health and rights, to encompass individual agency to make choices about their sexual and reproductive lives.
The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS had killed approximately 40.4 million people, and approximately 39 million people were infected with HIV globally. Of these, 29.8 million people (75%) are receiving antiretroviral treatment. There were about 630,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS in 2022. The 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that the global incidence of HIV infection peaked in 1997 at 3.3 million per year. Global incidence fell rapidly from 1997 to 2005, to about 2.6 million per year. Incidence of HIV has continued to fall, decreasing by 23% from 2010 to 2020, with progress dominated by decreases in Eastern Africa and Southern Africa. As of 2020, there are approximately 1.5 million new infections of HIV per year globally.
HIV/AIDS is one of the most serious health concerns in South Africa. The country has the highest number of people afflicted with HIV of any country, and the fourth-highest adult HIV prevalence rate, according to the 2019 United Nations statistics.
Sentebale is a registered charity founded in 2006 by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. Sentebale helps children and adolescents struggling to come to terms with their HIV and AIDS diagnosis. It provides a safe environment for them to address their mental health among their peers, giving them tools and knowledge.
HIV/AIDS in Lesotho constitutes a very serious threat to Basotho and to Lesotho's economic development. Since its initial detection in 1986, HIV/AIDS has spread at alarming rates in Lesotho. In 2000, King Letsie III declared HIV/AIDS a natural disaster. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2016, Lesotho's adult prevalence rate of 25% is the second highest in the world, following Eswatini.
Purnima Mane is an Indian author and sexual and reproductive health expert who held many senior leadership roles in United Nations and global health roles. She serves on the board of governors of the International Development Research Centre and is the founding editor of Culture, Health and Sexuality academic journal.
Geeta Rao Gupta is a leader on gender, women's issues, and HIV/AIDS who is serving as United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues since May 2023. She previously served as executive director of the 3D Program for Girls and Women and senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation since 2017. She is frequently consulted on issues related to AIDS prevention and women's vulnerability to HIV and is an advocate for women's economic and social empowerment to fight disease, poverty and hunger.
Prostitution in Eritrea is legal and regulated. Official figures state there are around 2,000 prostitutes in the country, who are not allowed to operate near schools, hospitals, and churches. According to the 2009 Human Rights Reports, security forces occasionally follow women engaged in prostitution and arrest those who had spent the night with a foreigner. Some women enter prostitution due to poverty. Prostitutes are known locally as "shermuta" in Arabic, or "mnzerma" and "me'amn" in Tigrinya.
Since reports of emergence and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States between the 1970s and 1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has frequently been linked to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) by epidemiologists and medical professionals. It was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981. The first official report on the virus was published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on June 5, 1981, and detailed the cases of five young gay men who were hospitalized with serious infections. A month later, The New York Times reported that 41 homosexuals had been diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma, and eight had died less than 24 months after the diagnosis was made.
Dr Luiz Loures was the Deputy Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). He was appointed to this position at the level of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 14 December 2012.
Quarraisha Abdool Karim is an infectious diseases epidemiologist and co-founder and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA. She is a Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York and Pro-Vice Chancellor for African Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Natalia Kanem is a medical doctor who currently serves as the Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. In this capacity, she is among the highest-ranking women at the United Nations and the first Latin American to head UNFPA.
Prudence Nobantu Mabele was a South African activist who advocated for the rights of women and children living with HIV/AIDS, and against gender-based violence. She was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1990 and went public with her status in 1992. She set up the Positive Women's Network in 1996. She worked with UNAIDS and also qualified as a sangoma. She was the recipient of many awards, including the Felipa de Souza award in 1999. In 2004, she carried the Olympic flame. She died in 2017 and in her memory the International AIDS Society set up an annual prize for gender activists.
Stellah Wairimu Bosire, is a Kenyan physician, corporate executive, human rights activist and author, a former co-executive director of Uhai Eashri and previously served as the chief executive officer of Kenya Medical Association and as the vice-chair of the HIV and AIDS Tribunal of Kenya.
International family planning programs aim to provide women around the world, especially in developing countries, with contraceptive and reproductive services that allow them to avoid unintended pregnancies and control their reproductive choices.
The status of women in Zambia has improved in recent years. Among other things, the maternal mortality rate has dropped and the National Assembly of Zambia has enacted multiple policies aimed at decreasing violence against women. However, progress is still needed. Most women have limited access to reproductive healthcare, and the total number of women infected with HIV in the country continues to rise. Moreover, violence against women in Zambia remains common. Child marriage rates in Zambia are some of the highest in the world, and women continue to experience high levels of physical and sexual violence.
Anne Shongwe is a Kenyan international civil servant and entrepreneur, who has lived for three decades in South Africa. Since 2022, she has been the director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for Southern Africa. She was born in Kenya and then completed a bachelor's degree at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, and a master's degree at American University in Washington, D.C. She spent fifteen years working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and then launched a digital gaming development business to create a learning platform for teaching life skills to youth through mobile phones. Using sponsorships from various corporations and NGOs, Shongwe was able to distribute games as free downloads with a focus on Africa. Her games were designed to teach youth about human rights and social responsibilities. She aimed through the games to have youth question their beliefs in regard to topics such as sexual consent, exploitation and violence; environmental protection; and conflict resolution.
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