Dr. Olive Shisana

Dr. Olive Shisana is a distinguished researcher, policy expert, and leader with over 30 years of experience in research, management, policy development, fundraising, and multilateral collaboration.

Her international experience spans the USA, South Africa, and Switzerland, where she has honed her ability to manage diverse environments. For six and a half years, she served as the Social Policy Special Advisor to the President of South Africa, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, providing strategic guidance on National Health Insurance (NHI) and health system strengthening.

As a scientist, Dr. Shisana has been at the forefront of advancing universal health coverage. She chaired the Ministerial Advisory Committee on NHI for five years, later assisting the Ministry of Health in drafting NHI legislation, developing funding strategies, improving service delivery, and enhancing healthcare quality.

On the global stage, she served as Technical Co-Chair of the ACT-A (Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator), ensuring the rapid development, scale-up, and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics while strengthening global health systems. She also chaired the South African BRICS Think Tank, where she played a key role in developing draft health indicators.

Dr. Shisana holds a Doctor of Science from Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health, specializing in epidemiology and risk factors of communicable diseases such as HIV and COVID-19. She was the founder and Principal Investigator for four waves of South Africa’s population-based HIV survey (2002-2012), which received international recognition.

She has held prestigious academic and advisory roles, including:

• Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town, Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health
• Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from Monash University (2014)
• Executive Director of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health
• First female CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council (serving for 10 years)

Dr. Shisana has also contributed to numerous national and international scientific committees and advisory boards, including:

• The 2016 International AIDS Conference
• Emory University Global Health Institute Advisory Board
• African Health Research Institute
• South African National AIDS Council
• Nelson Mandela 46664 Campaign
• First African Gender Summit (2015)
• AIDS 2016 Global Conference

She represented South Africa in the G20 Finance and Health Taskforce, contributing to pandemic preparedness and response strategies.

As a business leader, Dr. Shisana is the President and CEO of EB Consulting (Pty) Ltd and the founder of Cape Nexis Data Solutions, an ICT school based in Polokwane, alongside the recently established CapeNexis ICT Hub in a rural area.

Her contributions have been widely recognized. She was awarded:

• The Order of Baobab (Bronze), South Africa’s highest national honor, for her impact on science and community service, particularly in HIV/AIDS research.
• The Science-for-Society Gold Medal by the South African Academy of Sciences (2013).

Additionally, she served on The High-Level Panel on the Assessment of Key Legislation and the Acceleration of Fundamental Change, commissioned by the South African Parliament.