Professor WD Francois Venter, MD, FCP, PhD, is the Executive Director of Ezintsha at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he received most of his training. He has a strong focus on public sector access to HIV and chronic care services, with his health systems research directly shaping national programmes. His work has recently involved antiretrovirals such as dolutegravir, TAF, rilpivirine, and cabotegravir, as well as COVID-19 antivirals. He leads multiple antiretroviral treatment optimization studies, including research on new first-line options, patient linkage-to-care interventions, and self-testing projects, and has overseen large PEPFAR-funded HIV programmes in South Africa targeting diverse populations including men, women, children, young people, truckers, sex workers, and LGBTI communities.

For over two decades, Professor Venter has advised the South African government, UNAIDS, and WHO, contributing to international, regional, and national HIV guidelines, and he also served on the South African government’s COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Department of Science and Technology Research and Innovation Committee, advising on COVID-19 research and innovation needs, and has engaged in several HIV-related human rights cases in Southern Africa. With a deep interest in medical ethics, he supervises numerous master’s and PhD students. His recent research has been published in leading journals including Lancet HIV, New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Communications, AIDS, and PLOS Medicine.