• Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital is the largest children’s hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa and the only dedicated child health institution in South Africa.
• It is a centre of excellence for training of child health professionals and provides multidisciplinary care at an international level whilst working within the limitations of a low middle income country.
  
• Ground-breaking research takes places at this great institution as well as the centres affiliated with the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health.
  
• The other hospitals on the platform include:
  
• Groote Schuur Hospital Neonatal Unit
• Mowbray Maternity Hospital (Neonates)
• New Somerset Hospital (General Paediatrics and Neonates)
• Mitchells Plain District Hospital (General Paediatrics)
• Victoria Hospital (General Paediatrics)
• The staff at every facility are highly trained professionals who are dedicated to providing excellent paediatric care in a compassionate manner. We believe that the children under our care deserve the best, and that is exactly what we strive to provide.

Groote Schuur Hospital

Mowbray Maternity Hospital

New Somerset Hospital

Mitchells Plain District Hospital

Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital

Victoria Hospital

Staff Bio-Sketches

Website created by Shakti Pillay

20th September 2022

medical officers

Red Cross War Memorial ChIldren’s HospitaL

• Born and raised in Johannesburg, studied in Pretoria and now Cape Town is my home since 2013.
• I am enthusiastic and knowledgeable in general child health care. I am a medical officer and part of the ambulatory medical team working in the medical outpatients and acute care medical emergency department since 2018. I'm usually one of the first doctors a child will see when walking through the door at Red Cross. I love my little patients!
• English is my first language.
• I understand Afrikaans and some Xhosa.
  

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."

Frederick Douglas

• I grew up in KZN and the Helderberg area, doing my undergraduate training at UCT.
  
• I spent four years in Kimberley prior to working at Red Cross.
  
• I am empathic, quiet (but with a rich inner world), and somewhat idealistic.
  
• My dream is to improve Child Health in lower-middle income countries through better understanding of both the patients we serve, the diseases we fight, and the systems we work under.
  
• I speak English and Afrikaans.
  
• I am happily married to Siviwe Mawonga.
  

"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."

C.S. Lewis

• Medical officer at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital since 1st June 2023.
  
• I am from sunny Durban
  
• I speak English.
  
• Keen to learn more isiXhosa/isiZulu and Afrikaans.
  
• I have an interest in nutrition in paediatrics, TB and HIV.
  
• I love to get to know new people, work in teams and help little patients.
  

”Try to be a Rainbow in someone’s cloud”

Maya Angelou

paediatric registrars

• I was born in Port Elizabeth, made my way slowly to Cape Town, which will hopefully be my forever home.
  
• I am an energetic and enthusiastic aspiring paediatrician.
  
• I enjoy making people laugh and feeling good about themselves.
  
• I like to constantly improve myself by learning new skills, both at work and personally.
  
• I have a special interest in pharmacology and oncology.
  
• I am keen to join the registrar wellness committee.
  
• I speak Afrikaans, English and IsiXhosa (I try really hard)
  
• I sing in the Symphony Choir of Cape Town.
  
• Come support our next performance!
  

• I am vegan, loud, have 3 dogs and love old Japanese movies.
• I was born in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape.
  
• I grew up in Johannesburg.
  
• I speak English and some Afrikaans and Zulu.
  
• My research interests are in neonatology (HIE) and HIV/PMTCT.
  
• Regarding committee's: Um... are we not busy enough already?
  
• I've always wanted to work in a more rural setting or with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) .
  

• An aspiring paediatrician with a keen interest in neonatology.
• Ghanaian by nationality, but South Africa is home.
  
• I speak English and Twi.
  
• I have working knowledge in Afrikaans, Setswana, Isizulu and Isixhosa.
  
• My research interests are in neonatology (HIE).
  
• I am interested in joining the professional standards committee.
  
• I have aspirations of one day collaborating with philanthropists to start a neonatal outreach programme for low-income countries.
  

• I am from Durban, studied science at Stellenbosch and then moved to Cape Town.
• I spent some time in wonderful Ireland, Galway.
• Research interests include neonatology, ICU outcomes, neurodevelopment, improving systems and community upliftment projects.
• I speak English, Afrikaans and German.
  
• I hope to hike Machu Pichu one day.
  

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Lao tzu

• I hail from the friendly city of Port Elizabeth but have now lived in Cape Town for half of my life.
• I have 4 brothers.
• I speak English, Afrikaans and matric French.
• I hope to improve my Xhosa-speaking skills in the near future.
• I completed my undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town. I am passionate about research and published my first study while working as an intern at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg.
• I am even more passionate about being a clinician and am thrilled to be living my childhood dream of becoming a paediatrician.
• I LOVE what I do.
• Paediatrics is my vocation and calling and I am grateful and humbled to be a part of it.
• I am an outspoken and enthusiastic advocate; public health would have been my alternative career choice.
• I am ambitious - the pillars of my lifelong career will include clinical paediatrics, public health and advocacy, and research. I hope to never stop being curious and learning.
• I am especially fond of neonatology and very interested in paediatric rheumatology.
• It is my belief that kindness and empathy should be the foundation of any doctor's management of patients.
• Knowledge and skills are important but we are first and foremost healers and our patients should always leave us feeling that little bit better (even if we can't cure all things).
• This should apply to the way we treat one another (and all living things) as well.
• I am enthusiastic, affable and dedicated and open to new projects and ideas.
  

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

• Born in Cairo; and raised in the charming coastal town of Strand.
• Being the eldest of eight has largely shaped my personality.
• I achieved my milestones at Stellenbosch University, Pietermaritzburg Complex and Kimberley Hospital.
• As an intern, I had the valuable opportunity to rotate in the intensive care unit (ICU), where I was naturally drawn to the controlled chaos of the environment.
• It was during a subsequent rotation that I discovered the joy of working with and advocating for children, igniting my interest in paediatric critical care.
• I chose paediatrics because I believe that children are the most vulnerable members of an already vulnerable society.
• Despite their vulnerability, they hold incredible promise, and I find it exceedingly rewarding to be a part of their journey to fulfil that promise.
• My current research interest is in describing Kawasaki Disease in the South African demographic.
• Afrikaans is my home language.
• I speak English.
• My isiZulu is better than my isiXhosa
  

• I am a general paediatrics registrar.
• I am from Namibia, Windhoek and I love the city of Cape Town.
  
• I am interested in history, global justice, and improvement of healthcare in Africa especially for children.
  
• I speak English, Oshiwambo, Slovak, Czech and some Afrikaans.
  
• I am learning Xhosa now.
  
• I don’t drink coffee.
  

• I am interested in neurodevelopmental health and importance of the first 1000 days; mental health and well-being of children & adolescents.
• My current research is focused on very low birth weight babies in Low-Middle-Income-Countries.
• I am a member of the Paediatrics Wellness Team.
• I would love to collaborate with colleagues and organisations to make the system work for the most vulnerable, poverty-stricken communities.
• I completed undergraduate training at University of Cape Town (UCT), internship at Mitchells Plain District Hospital (MPDH) and community service at Eerste River Hospital.
• I am a laatlammetjie, born at Mowbray Maternity Hospital and raised in Faure, Cape Town.
• My mum was a teacher and my dad a fishmonger.
• I am married to a brilliant engineer and my best friend.
• Humans to four cats - Mario, Luigi (RIP Luigi), Khaleesi & Suki.
• I am actually a bubbly introvert.
• I speak English, Afrikaans and some IsiXhosa.
• Remember to look after yourself. There is only one of you. Also, let's look after each other.
  

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” Wendy Mass

• I have always wanted to be a paediatrician.
  
• I am deeply passionate about providing good General Paediatric care to ​the precious children and families we serve.
  
• I have an interest in Community Paeds.
  
• I love trying new things.
• I am currently learning how to play guitar and I am learning to paint with ​watercolors.
• I enjoy being in nature with my little dog, Ziggy
• I speak English.
  

• I am a general paediatrics registrar.
• Originally from Namibia
• Mommy to the cutest little girl.
• I can speak Oshiwambo and English.
• I am interested in Registrar Wellness.
• I have 4 sisters.
• I am an introverted calm person who is very adventurous.
  

• I am soft spoke but inquisitive.
• I am passionate about helping people especially children.
• I am originally from Kavango Region in northern Namibia.
• Bred and live in Windhoek.
• My research interests are in rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease and malnutrition.
• I speak English, Afrikaans, German and Rukwangali.
• I get by with Oshiwambo.
• I am interested in research related commitees
• I would love to see Namibia open its doors to a stand alone paediatric hospital.
• I want to bridge the gap between that dream and our current reality.
  

"Hold the vision, trust the process!"

Author unknown

• I am a-soon-to-be paediatrician with a naturally positive disposition.
• Paediatrics is what makes my heart full and inspires me to be better.
• I am always willing to go the extra mile for my patients and embrace any ​learning opportunities to up-skill myself.
• In addition to my love of general and community paediatrics I have a ​special interest in behavioural and developmental paediatrics, paediatric ​endocrinology and am exploring the world of paediatric sleep medicine.
• I am passionate about wellness, building resilience and creating ​psychologically safe work spaces.
• I believe in positive leadership and that relationship building is key to ​effective teamwork.
• I throughly enjoyed the MMED journey and am excited to be involved in ​more research in the future.
• I speak English and Afrikaans.
  

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.”

Helen Keller

DIVISION of Neonatology

Groote Schuur Hospital

• I completed my undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town, leaving a few years later for the United Kingdom.
• The trip lasted a lot longer than originally planned.
• I went onto complete Paediatric training in London, later sub specialising in Neonatal Medicine which incorporated a two-year research project into Magnetic Resonance Imaging of preterm infant lungs.
• Following this, I was appointed as a Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Neonatal Medicine at the Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College, London.
  
• In 2008 I returned to Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital to take up the position of Senior Sub-specialist in Neonatology.
  
• I was appointed as Head of Division of Neonatal Medicine, University of Cape Town in February 2011.
  
• Problems at birth remain a major health issue for South Africa and affected infants are drawn disproportionately from disadvantaged populations. I am passionate about addressing these issues and my research is currently focused on this for the benefit of our population of babies.
  

• Registered Neonatologist since 2003, PhD 2013
• Chair of UCT Specialist Training Committee
  
• Registrar Management Team member
  
• Paed MMed dissertations (part 3) convener
  
• Departmental Research committee member
  
• Post-graduate committee member: Exco Paeds and HSF
  
• Workplace-based assessment Paeds, HSF and National steering committees
  
• I schooled in Zimbabwe, University in South Africa.
• I speak English, some Afrikaans and Xhosa.
  
• Research interests include amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG), hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), therapeutic hypothermia, phototherapy and others.
• I am the founding president of USANA (United South African Neonatal Association.
• I am a patent holder for the Neofan Cooler.
• I completed the Full Iron Man in 2017.
• I have a peanut allergy.
  

"Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change."

Wayne Dyer

Groote Schuur Hospital

• Registered Neonatologist
• I am from Cape Town.
• I speak English and Afrikaans.
  
• Research interests include neonatal ventilation and critical care, neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia and infant nutrition.
• I am interested in digital technologies and health and it’s integration into health care systems.
• No, I don’t bite my nails, I was born like that.
  

“So far you’ve survived 100% of your worst days. You’re doing great.”

The Petrolpump Oracle @ Pump_Oracle (Twitter)

• I completed my undergraduate training at the University of Witwatersrand and my specialist and sub-specialist training in paediatrics and neonatology at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
  
• I was appointed as a neonatal consultant in the Division of Neonatal Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital in 2019.
  
• Research interests are focused on congenital infections, and neurology particularly babies with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy and use of therapeutic hypothermia in low middle income countries.
  
• UCT site co-principal investigator for the national neonatal encephalopathy with suspected hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (NESHIE) study.
  
• I am passionate about implementation of governance and ethical principles and using digital technology to improve access to medical information and better care.
  
• I designed, developed, and co-authored the content of the Neonatal Guide App and am one of the lead authors for the 2023 South African National Department of Health Neonatal Guidelines.
  
• I love all things Lego.
• I have two cats - Lily and Felix.
  

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

• I am interested in most aspects of neonatology, but especially the care of the very low birth weight infant in low and middle income countries, neonatal infections and surfactant delivery.
• I am a founder member of the African Neonatal Association and involved with aerosolised surfactant research with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It has been a privilege assisting with the training of 13 African Paediatric Fellowship Programme (APFP) neonatologists who are all back in their home countries and doing great things.
• I speak English, Afrikaans (fair), Xhosa (poor) and pig Latin.
  

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning."

Albert Einstei

Groote Schuur Hospital