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Conference Chair, Professor Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, – Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town
Professor Shanaaz Mathews is a public-health scholar and social justice advocate based at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she serves in the Faculty of Health Sciences and was Director of the Children’s Institute for over a decade.
Her work centers on the prevention of violence against women and children, exploring their interconnections and promoting policy change through rigorous research.
She has led landmark studies on intimate femicide and child homicide, significantly influencing legislation — for example, her research contributed to a Constitutional Court ruling that declared corporal punishment in homes unconstitutional. Mathews began her career as a clinical social worker focusing on child sexual abuse, then went on to earn a PhD in public health studying intimate partner violence.
She currently serves as the evaluation co-lead for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s “What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls” programme. She is also a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence, and a member of the international advisory board for UNICEF’s research on the drivers of violence.
In 2022, she was awarded UCT’s Alan Pifer Award in recognition of her outstanding welfare-oriented research and her commitment to social justice.
Dr. Abdulgafoor M. Bachani is Associate Professor in the Department of International Health, Director of the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU), and Director of the PhD program in Health Systems at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Director of the Learning, Acting, and Building for Rehabilitation in Health Systems (ReLAB-HS) program. Dr. Bachani is a renowned global public health leader and expert in health systems, injury prevention, disability, and rehabilitation. He advises Mayors’ offices in over 25 cities around the world on road safety, national governments and agencies, and works in over 30 countries. Dr. Bachani’s contributions involve developing approaches for: the measurement of disability and understanding the long-term health, economic, and societal consequences of injuries; strengthening health systems to enhance access to rehabilitation services in low-resource settings; applying novel information and communication technology approaches to injury prevention, disability, and rehabilitation; and, developing sustainable capacity for research and practice in the field of injury prevention, disability, and rehabilitation. Dr. Bachani has contributed to several empirical studies and global reports focused on injuries, disability, and rehabilitation in low- and middle-income countries.
Chief Specialist Scientist, Gender and Health Research Unit
She has a PhD and MPhil in Public Health and started her career as a nurse. She has worked in the area of gender based violence for the last 30+ years.
She has an honorary appointment as an Honorary Professor with UCT Faculty of Health Sciences in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine.
Her special interests are the health impact of gender based violence on women’s health with an interest in the interface between GBV and HIV. She also done research on the health sector responses to gender-based violence with a focus on post rape care. Her research skills are in both epidemiological and qualitative methods. .
Dr Greta M. Massetti, PhD, MA, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Georgia State University. Formerly, she was Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, where she led global efforts to quantify and prevent violence, suicide, overdose and other injuries. Her work particularly addresses violence against children and youth, adverse childhood experiences, and their links to physical and mental health. She has authored over 130 scientific publications and is recognised for translating data into evidence‑based policies worldwide
Ashley van Niekerk is a Professor at the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) Institute for Social and Health Sciences and the Director of the South African Medical Research Council-UNISA Violence, Injury and Social Asymmetries Research Unit. He is a Technical Advisor to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, a Member of the Academy of Sciences in South Africa, a former Member of the South African Ministry of Health’s National Health Research Committee, and a former Editor-in-Chief of African Safety Promotion: A Journal of Injury and Violence Prevention (recently renamed Social and Health Sciences). Ashley has a PhD (Social Medicine) from the Karolinska Institutet and a M. Psych (Clinical Psychology) from the University of the Western Cape. His research interests draw on socio-psychological, public health and social justice understandings of nature of injury, its causation, and prevention.
Prof Mark A. Bellis is Director of Research and Innovation at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and heads its Public Health Institute. He also serves as focal point for the World Health Organization (WHO) on violence and injury prevention, directing a global research portfolio on violence, substance use, sexual health, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). With over 250 academic papers and 300 applied public‑health reports, his work influences policies on violence prevention, alcohol‑related harm, and social determinants of health. Previously he held senior roles at Public Health Wales and as UK Director of Public Health, advising UN agencies and European bodies on drugs, alcohol and injury preventio
Associate Professor Colleen Saunders is an injury epidemiologist and researcher within the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Her research foci include the epidemiology and prevention of drowning, as well as research engagement and capacity strengthening within the African context. She has a strong service focus in the area of drowning prevention and serves as the voluntary Director of Drowning Prevention for Lifesaving South Africa, as well as a workgroup lead for the Western Cape Disaster Management and Fire Rescue Services: Drowning Prevention Steering Committee. She recently served as a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the 2024 WHO Global Status Report on Drowning Prevention and continues to serve on a WHO technical working group on implementation guidance for drowning prevention.
J. Morag MacKay holds degrees in nursing and epidemiology and her professional activities over the last 30+ years have largely focused on the child injury prevention in the areas of surveillance, education, research, program and policy planning and evaluation in Canada, Europe and the U.S. From 2004-2015 she managed several large multi-country projects aimed at bridging the evidence to action gap and supporting adoption and implementation of evidence-based good practices for the prevention of injuries to children and youth in Europe.She is currently Chief Research and Network Officer at Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW), where she is responsible for ensuring all aspects of SKW’s work are informed by data and research evidence, supporting evaluation efforts, and providing leadership for the Safe Kids Worldwide Alliance, made up of 20+ partners in other countries around the globe.Morag is particularly passionate about drowning prevention and was the inaugural Chair for the U.S. National Water Safety Action Plan.
Brett Bowman is a professor and Senior Director of Research at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is an internationally recognized (National Research Foundation B2-rated) researcher, member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), and a Fulbright alumnus. His research focuses on better understanding the intersections between violence and social asymmetries in low-middle income countries. Committed to mobilising science for society, he sits on the advisory Board of Gun Free South Africa and Chairs the Psychological Society of South Africa’s Standing Committee on the Science of Psychology.
Prof Jagnoor Jagnoor is Program Lead for Injury at The George Institute for Global Health and Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Injury Prevention and Trauma Care. She holds a BDS, MPH and PhD. Her work spans global injury epidemiology, focusing on road injuries, drowning, burns, falls and mild traumatic brain injury, with a focus on equity, vulnerability, and injury burden distribution. Dr Jagnoor leads research on injury prevention, rehabilitation, policy-relevant health-systems strengthening and recovery outcomes across low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa and Australia.
Prof Sithombo Maqungo is a distinguished figure in the field of Orthopaedic Surgery, renowned for his expertise in trauma care and injury prevention. With an impressive array of qualifications and a wealth of experience, he has dedicated his career to advancing the practice of orthopaedic surgery on both local and global scales. Prof Sithombo Maqungo completed his medical degree, MBChB, at the University of Natal before pursuing further specialization in Orthopaedic Surgery. He attained his FC Ortho (SA) and MMed degrees at the University of Cape Town, demonstrating a commitment to excellence in his field. Prof Sithombo Maqungo has also completed Trauma Fellowships at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, USA, and Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, further enriching his expertise and global perspective in orthopaedic trauma care. His thirst for knowledge and skill refinement led him to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education (PG Dip HPE) at the University of Cape Town, where he honed his abilities as both a practitioner and educator.
At present, Prof Sithombo Maqungo serves as the Head of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at Groote Schuur Hospital, affiliated with the University of Cape Town. He also holds the position of Clinical Lead for Trauma Care and Injury Prevention within the Division of Global Surgery at the University of Cape Town, reflecting his commitment to addressing public health challenges. Prof Sithombo Maqungo has played pivotal roles in various organizations, including serving as President of the Osteosynthesis and Trauma Care Foundation (OTC), South Africa Chapter, and as Past President of the South African Orthopaedic Trauma Society. He is also a Board member of GunFree South Africa and Childsafe.
Dr Xiangming Fang is Research Associate Professor of Health Management & Policy at the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. He earned his PhD in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota in 2004. Previously, he served as Senior Health Economist with the Division of Violence Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and has held academic roles including as Chair of the Department of Applied Economics at China Agricultural University. His research focuses on economic evaluation of health interventions, public policy analysis, violence prevention, and food safety. Dr Fang has received awards for his impactful research — including a prestigious dissertation award early in his career and recognition for top violence-research publications.
Dr. Richard Matzopoulos is Director of the Burden of Disease Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). He is also an Honorary Professor at University of Cape Town’s School of Public Health & Family Medicine, coordinating its Violence and Injury Research Programme. His work – grounded in injury epidemiology – focuses on measuring the health and social burden of violence and injury, evaluating interventions, and shaping policies on upstream determinants. He advises the Western Cape Government on alcohol‑harm reduction and injury prevention and leads injury‑mortality surveillance and research aimed at reducing violence and injury in South Africa
Dr Jane Ndungu is a Chartered Psychologist and a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow in the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter. She is also an honorary researcher at the Nelson Mandela University’s Transformation Office.
Jane is a researcher and social justice advocate focusing on prevention of violence against women and children and promoting inclusion of people with disability in health research. Her work bridges research, policy and community practice, advancing feminist approaches to prevention and wellbeing. She aims to make scientific evidence more accessible, equitable and impactful across academic and social contexts.
Jane advises multiple sectors on constructive inclusion of people with disability in health research. She currently serves as an independent advisory board member for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls programme. She also serves as a member of the Gender and Rights Advisory Panel (GAP) of the Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, which includes the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP).
Dr Zibonele F. Zimba is Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and Community Development at University of Johannesburg. He earned his PhD in Social Work and supervises postgraduate students in community development and social work education. His research centres on cultural practices and indigenous knowledge, critical and radical social work, social work and disability, and social work education — including how traditional beliefs and community dynamics shape social welfare practices. He is an NRF‑rated researcher (Y2), awarded 2021 Emerging Educator of the Year by the Association of South African Social Work Higher Education Institutions (ASASWEI). Recent work includes decolonial and autoethnographic analyses of social work practice in Africa.
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