Dr. Natalie Mayet

Dr. Natalie Mayet is the Deputy Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, where she leads strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement for the institution and the immediate past Chairperson of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) for Africa.

An esteemed occupational health physician and an alumna of the Institute of Functional Medicine, she holds qualifications in;

• Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,
• Public Health,
• Health Services Management,
• Occupational Health, and
• An MPhil from the Gordon Institute of Business Science.

With extensive experience in health strategy across both the public and private sectors, Dr. Mayet serves on multiple technical expert committees for Africa CDC. She is also a board member of the Southern Africa Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS), the Foundation of the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management & Analysis System (SORMAS), and the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Foodborne Illness.

Dr. Mayet played a pivotal role in establishing South Africa’s first emergency operations center for communicable diseases. She has spearheaded the development of IT-based surveillance systems while simultaneously strengthening field epidemiology capacity, biosafety, and biosecurity to fortify public health infrastructure.

A dedicated mentor, she contributes to the Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Programme of Africa CDC and has guided and coached over 90 mentees. She collaborates closely with the National Department of Health, driving multiple public health interventions.

Her passion lies in advancing health systems, capacity building, and fostering the next generation of public health leaders.