Professor Abdool Karim Appointed to WHO Science Council!

 

The nine-member team comprises internationally renowned experts from around the world, who represent a broad range of disciplines encompassing many aspects of science – from basic research to public health implementation science.

 

Johannesburg, South Africa (30 April 2021) – Professor Salim Abdool Karim has been appointed to the newly formed World Health Organisation (WHO) Science Council.

According to the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), the Science Council was established earlier this month to guide WHO’s science research.

The nine-member team comprises internationally renowned experts from around the world, who represent a broad range of disciplines encompassing many aspects of science – from basic research to public health implementation science. The Science Council will ‘act as the voice of scientific leadership’, providing advice to the WHO to respond to health problems such as global health threats, interpret the latest scientific and medical knowledge, and identify the latest advances in technology to improve health globally.

Abdool Karim will guide the advancement of the organisation’s mission, including the identification of current and new science and technology issues that WHO needs to address for direct or indirect impact on global health.

Abdool Karim presided over the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on COVID-19 before he stepped down in March. The MAC positioned South Africa as one of the leading nations in the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abdool Karim is a Director and Co-Founder of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), former President and CEO of SAMRC and now Director of the HIV-TB Pathogenesis and Treatment Research Unit.

The Professor has been recognised for his immense scientific contributions to HIV prevention and treatment and his COVID-19 research in South Africa and abroad.

Abdool Karim said pandemics such as Aids and COVID-19 have highlighted the important role of science in global health.