Dr. Ruth Labode

Dr. Ruth Labode is a graduate of the Sofia Medical School in Bulgaria (MBChB) and holds a Master’s degree in Community Health (MCOMMH) from the University of Liverpool, UK. She made history in 1993 as the first female Provincial Medical Director in Zimbabwe, a role she held for five years.

Dr. Labode is a former Member of Parliament in Zimbabwe, where she chaired the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care and led the SADC Global Caucus of Parliamentarians Against Tuberculosis. She is a passionate advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights, particularly for vulnerable groups.

She has played a key role in the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) Linking Policy to Programming (LPP) Project, a regional initiative aimed at improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes for young key populations across five Southern African countries.

Dr. Ruth is a She Decides Global Champion and a member of the African Union Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity Working Group. Currently, she serves as a Commissioner for the Lancet Global Health Commission on Universal Health Care.