Shaheen Mehtar
Prof Shaheen Mehtar is a retired consultant who continues to work with the Unit for Infection Prevention and Control (UIPC) at Tygerberg Academic Hospital and Stellenbosch University. Trained in the UK in Medical Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Community Health, she later served as deputy director of Public Health in the South Cape Karoo before establishing Africa’s first IPC unit at Tygerberg in 2004. The unit now trains more than 2,500 students annually, from short courses to a Master’s in IPC.
She is an internationally recognised IPC expert and has helped set up programmes across the UK, Europe, Asia, India, the Far East and Latin America. Shaheen serves on multiple WHO committees, including Ebola response, COVID‑19 guidance and ventilation. She is a founder and immediate Past Chair of the Infection Control Africa Network (ICAN), through which she continues to strengthen IPC training and systems across Africa.