Prof Laetitia Rispel
With more than twenty years of public health experience, Professor Laetitia Rispel is currently an adjunct professor at the Centre for Health Policy (CHP) at the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where she leads a large research programme on human resources for health and teaches post-graduate students in the School of Public Health. She has qualifications from universities in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Her research interests include HIV&AIDS, health systems, human resources, monitoring & evaluation, social determinants of health and gender.
Before joining CHP, she was the Executive Director of the Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health Research Programme at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa. From 2001-2006, she was the Head of the Health Department in Gauteng Province, where she lead and implemented many of the health transformation initiatives.
In June 2008, Laetitia was elected as the President of the Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA). She also serves on the board of South African Health Systems Trust and is a member of the research sector of the South African National Council on AIDS (SANAC). In 2006-2007, she was the Southern African regional hub-coordinator for the Social Exclusion Knowledge Network (SEKN), established as part of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) of the World Health Organisation. Prof Laetitia chairs the Health Programme Committee of the AMREF Board.
Dr Laetitia Rispel was the 2003 health category winner of the South African Shoprite/Checkers/SABC2 woman of the year award, in recognition of her health leadership and activism.
Appointed to the Board in October 2006
Residence: South Africa
