Precious Matsoso tells Biénne Huisman how, over three decades, she helped shape some of the most consequential health policy negotiations in South Africa and in global governance. She also shares memories about her Soweto childhood filled with music, science, and political uprisings.
With glimmers of tenderness beneath a stoic façade, Tara Gerardy-Bissolati tells Biénne Huisman about her struggle to beat opioids, why homelessness is a public health issue, and her commitment to bring hope to people living rough in central Cape Town.
High-octane executive force Marlene le Roux tells Biénne Huisman about contracting polio when she was three months old, about not dimming her light, and renovations that made the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town one of South Africa’s most accessible public spaces.
What started as a childhood fascination with science and sport has grown into a mission to “democratise” technology with innovative, affordable rehabilitation solutions for people with limited resources. Biénne Huisman sits down with the associate professor – who was once a volleyball captain and is now the head of a top research centre – and who is proving that low-cost solutions are possible.
From anti-apartheid activist to top rated researcher, Professor Rachel Jewkes has spent her career trying to make the world a better place for women. Elri Voigt spoke to her about her journey to South Africa from the United Kingdom and how she became one of the country’s leading researchers on gender-based violence.
The obesity epidemic will hit South Africa hard on top of our high HIV burden, but advocate researcher and scientist Dr Nomathemba Chandiwana says she is ready to fight back harder. She speaks to Ufrieda Ho about her journey from working in state hospitals to transitioning into obesity medicine, and her move to Cape Town.
When Karen Mara Moss’ son was diagnosed with clubfoot, she travelled to the US in search of a life-changing treatment. She made a promise to bring it home and two decades on, her non-profit is at the heart of a remarkable success story.
With humour, warmth and steely resolve, Princess Anne-Sheilah Makhado speaks to Biénne Huisman about her long journey as a nurse, of creating solutions in the public health system, and her burning passion for motivating women and girls to unlock their talents.
After a decade at the helm of the country’s primary health research funder, Professor Glenda Gray will focus again on doing the science. She tells Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman about her childhood, her passion for research, administering multi-million dollar grants, and a heated argument in the bathroom with an ANC bigwig.
The only full-time nurse at the Saartjie Baartman Centre, Sister Leonie Weyers, is not only a caregiver to her patients but also helps them to “feel beautiful” again. Biénne Huisman spent time with her at the shelter situated on gang-war turf in Manenberg.
Burn injury has been described as the forgotten global public health crisis. Dr Nikki Allorto says that while it may be a neglected issue in South Africa, she is making sure her patients feel seen, heard and cared for. Sue Segar spent time with her on ward and clinic rounds at Greys Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.
Sister Sandra Bryant runs her clinic in a lilac painted room, where glitter cream and a disco ball does not seem out of place next to scissors, syringes, and needles. She tells Spotlight’s Biénne Huisman about working with Professor Christiaan Barnard, the adrenaline of being in the operating theater, and why she has a tattoo of an anatomical heart.
