Cleo Sokhela is a Chief Programme Officer and public health specialist with an MBA in Management Consulting and a Master’s in Public and Development Management from Wits Business School. Trained as a clinician, she has spent 19 years working across government, academia, civil society, and international technical forums. Her work focuses on the design, implementation, and scale-up of integrated programmes in HIV prevention and treatment, HIV/TB, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender-based violence (GBV), mental health, and digital health in South Africa. She has led large-scale, donor-funded initiatives supported by CDC, PEPFAR, and USAID. Cleo’s expertise includes strategic leadership, systems strengthening, adaptive management, monitoring and evaluation, and the localisation of service delivery aligned with South Africa’s HIV/TB and Global Health Security priorities.

Dr Thato Chidarikire is a senior Public Health Professional and Medical Scientist with a PhD in Virology and over 20 years of experience in HIV testing, HIV prevention, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, as well as capacity building and mentorship. She has extensive experience spanning public health practice, research, and clinical trials in HIV and molecular biology. Dr Chidarikire holds two Master of Science in Medicine degrees and a PhD in Virology, all from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She served for more than 10 years as Director for HIV Prevention Programmes at the South African National Department of Health and concluded her tenure there as Acting Chief Director for the HIV, AIDS and STIs Cluster. She is currently the National Technical Lead for HIV, TB, STIs, and Viral Hepatitis at the World Health Organization South Africa Office.