Shaping a programme grounded in Africa's patient safety priorities
The Scientific Committee brings together leaders from clinical care, medicines regulation, pharmacovigilance, public health, patient engagement and medicines integrity. Together, they are guiding the development of the Summit programme and helping ensure that its themes, speakers and discussions address the issues that matter most for patients and healthcare systems across Africa.
Expertise from across the healthcare ecosystem
Each member brings a distinct perspective on how patient safety is experienced, governed and improved — from frontline clinical care and national regulation to public health, patient engagement and the protection of medicine supply chains.
Dr.
Nomsa Tsikai
Clinical Oncologist & Founding Director
Harare Oncology Centre, Zimbabwe
Dr. Nomsa Tsikai is a clinical oncologist and the founding director of Harare Oncology Centre in Zimbabwe. She has more than a decade of experience in public and private oncology care and is a co-founder of Cancer Care Network Trust Zimbabwe, which supports cancer advocacy, patient support and palliative care. She brings an important frontline clinical and patient-centred perspective to the Committee.
Sihle Mchunu-Mtetwa
Cluster Patient Safety Head, East & Southern Africa
Novartis
Sihle Mchunu-Mtetwa leads patient safety activities across East and Southern Africa at Novartis. Her experience encompasses pharmacovigilance, safety risk management and the implementation of medicine-safety systems across diverse markets. She contributes practical insight into strengthening safety monitoring, regulatory compliance and the responsible use of medicines across the region.
Frieda Shigwedha
Registrar of Medicines
Namibia Medicines Regulatory Council
Frieda Shigwedha is Namibia's Registrar of Medicines. A pharmacist with experience in regulatory affairs, clinical assessment, medicine safety and pharmacovigilance, she has contributed to strengthening Namibia's regulatory and medicine-safety systems. Her experience brings a valuable national regulatory and post-market surveillance perspective to the Committee.
Juma Mwashuruti
Associate Director, Anti-Falsified Medicines Africa
Novartis
Juma Mwashuruti is a pharmaceutical integrity and security specialist working to combat falsified medicines across Africa. His experience covers supply-chain security, investigations, intelligence, policy engagement and collaboration with regulators and law-enforcement agencies. He brings extensive knowledge of the practical and cross-border challenges involved in protecting patients from falsified medical products.
Dr.
Mosoka Fallah
Acting Director, Science and Innovation
Africa CDC
Dr. Mosoka Fallah is Acting Director of Science and Innovation at Africa CDC. A public health scientist and experienced outbreak responder, he played a leading role in Liberia's Ebola response and helped establish the National Public Health Institute of Liberia. His work focuses on health security, research, innovation and strengthening Africa's capacity to address major public health threats.
Dr.
Nikki Kitikiti
Public Health Physician & Associate Visiting Expert
Centre of Regulatory Excellence, Duke–NUS Medical School
Dr. Nikki Kitikiti is a public health physician and Associate Visiting Expert at the Centre of Regulatory Excellence at Duke–NUS Medical School. She helped establish the Coalition to Accelerate Patient Engagement in Asia-Pacific and was a founding member of the SingHealth Duke–NUS Global Health Institute Policy Core. Her experience spans clinical practice, health policy, government health agencies and patient engagement.
Joshua Wamboga
Director of Development & Patient Advocate
Uganda Alliance of Patients' Organizations
Joshua Wamboga is a long-standing patient advocate and public health leader from Uganda. His work focuses on advancing patient-centred care, improving access to quality health services and addressing persistent health inequities in resource-limited settings. He brings more than 15 years of experience in health-systems philanthropy, partnership development and engagement with patient organisations, policymakers, researchers, innovators, industry and funders. He contributes an important patient and community perspective to the Committee.