The TB Think Tank (TB TT) was established in 2014 at the 4th South African TB Conference in an effort to strengthen the government’s programmatic TB response. TB TT is a national network of TB experts who advise the National Department of Health on evidence-based TB prevention and control policy and programmes, chaired by the Chief Director of the NDoH’s TB Cluster. In addition to NDoH representatives, the TB TT consists of a wide range of TB and TB-HIV stakeholders, including public-sector health practitioners, researchers, implementing and donor organisations, civil society and private sector. Representatives from NDoH identify annual priorities for the TB TT, and members, through individual technical Task Teams, collectively prioritise key activities. The TB TT functions through an Executive Committee responsible for delivering its mission and mandate. A Secretariat manages the day-to-day activities and the administration of Task Teams. Each Task Team is responsible for the execution of specific work plans and enables broad-based stakeholder representation on the TB TT.
The National TB Think Tank is structured with an Executive Committee (EXCO), the Secretariat, and Technical Task Teams which are aligned to national priority activities.
Chair: N Ndjeka
Co-Chair: F Abdullah Members (Secretariat, Task Team Chairs)
DDG Office
The Aurum Institute
P Subrayen
J Boffa
M Dube
M Nkosi
(Adhoc Task Team)
Chair: P Subrayen
Chair: L Lebina
Co-Chairs: K Velen; Mr Elias N Ramarumo
Chair: M Loveday
Co-Chairs: L Davids; S Moyo
Chair: P Subrayen
Co-Chair: G Tanna; Y Kock
Chair: Ms Tebogo Sole-Moloto
Co-Chairs: Dr N Mkhondo; Ms D Goldberg
Chair: M Kubjane
Co-Chairs: E Mohr-Holland
The Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring the achievement of the Think Tank’s vision, mission and mandate.
Specific functions of the EXCO include:
| Chair | Prof Norbert Ndjeka, Chief Director: TB Control & Management, NDoH | Co-Chair | Dr Fareed Abdullah- Director, Office of AIDS and TB Research, South African Medical Research Council |
| Members | Task Team Chairs and Secretariat members |
| Secretariat | Dr Priashni Subrayen, TB Technical Advisor; Dr Jody Boffa, Scientist; Ms Nolwazi Nkosi, Programme Coordinator |
Prof Norbert Ndjeka is the Chief Director: TB Control and Management at the National Department of Health. He has extensive clinical and programmatic experience in the management of TB and HIV. He also serves as WHO temporary MDR TB advisor and is a member of the TB TEAM Experts Roster, serving as an experienced expert in M/XDR-TB under the Stop TB Department of WHO. Dr Ndejka holds a medical degree from the University of Kinshasa, a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Services Management from Witwatersrand University, a Diploma in HIV Medicine from the College of Medicine of South Africa as well as a Master’s Degree in Family Medicine from the University of Limpopo, Medunsa.
Dr Fareed Abdullah is a recipient of the French Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit) for his work as a clinical researcher and public health scientist in the fight against HIV and TB.
He is a graduate of the University of KwaZulu- Natal’s Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine and currently serves as Director: Office of AIDS and TB Research at the South African Medical Research Council. Dr Abdullah also holds a part-time appointment as an HIV clinician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria.
Dr. Priashni Subrayen currently serves as Technical Director TB at The Aurum Institute which is a global healthcare solutions company and is also the head of the TB Think Tank Secretariat. She is currently also chairing the newly formed Data System and Innovations Task Team to ensure TB Data systems are responsive to TB programme needs. Having qualified as a medical doctor in 2002, she has more than 15 years of experience working in public health in South Africa and abroad. After acquiring a formal business education, she developed a keen interest in systems thinking, process re-engineering and continuous quality improvement which has been her specialised area for the past twelve years with TB HIV. The work in TB includes technical and clinical support to the Department of Health (DoH) at National, Provincial, District and facility level with a focus on data analytics for evidence-based improvement and design of interventions. She is responsible for the overall execution of the TB Think Tank’s Goals and Objectives and the management of the Secretariat.
Dr. Jody Boffa is an epidemiologist with nearly 20 years of health systems and community-based research experience in TB in the global South, including over a decade in South Africa. In addition to her role as Scientist with the TB Think Tank, Dr. Jody is a Research Fellow in the Division of Epidemology and Biostatistics at Stellenbosch University amd the Centre for Rural Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She has a PHD in Epidemology from the University of Calgary and completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Pai TB Research group at McGill University, Canada. Her research interests include person-centred TB care, community empowerment, quality assessment utilising standardised patients, and the integration of informal and private sectors with the public system in South Africa.
A professional Programme Manager with over 17 years of work experience in the NGO and clinical research industries. A graduate of the University of Pretoria with a MPH in public health, and a keen interest in TB, HIV and other emerging health issues. The main objective of his work in public health is to optimise health care outcomes through evidence generation for evidence-based policies and programmes.
Motivated and results-oriented Project Coordinator with a Master’s degree on Sociology from Rhodes University. The NGO sector is Nolwazi’s area of expertise. She has the experience working on HIV Prevention Programmes for key populations in Ekhurleni District and the Covid Emergency Grant Pilot Program in Buffalo City. Her interests include sexual reproductive health for adolescent girls and young women, particularly in rural areas, and changes in social norms. Eager to learn more about TB and its complexities.
Dr Limakatso Lebina holds a MBChB degree from the University of Cape Town (UCT), a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Liverpool and a PhD in Public Health from UCT. Her clinical research experience includes managing clinical trials and undertaking scientific studies on HIV, TB, and COVID-19 prevention and treatment. She is currently the clinical research site lead at THE Africa Health Research Institute (ARHI). Dr Lebina is also passionate about public health policy development, and leads the ‘Finding the Missing TB Patients’ task team at the South African TB Think Tank.
Ms Tebogo Sole Moloto is a Research Scientist at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), TB Platform Unit. With over 5 years of professional-level experience in conducting public health research in TB/HIV and behavioural related contract research projects; Tebogo currently serves as a Co-PI in two CDC funded TB research activities. She is a registered Research Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) since 2017. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Pretoria and her key interests are on using mobile health technologies and applying psychological principles to understand medication adherence in the context of TB.
Dr Mmamapudi Kubjane is an epidemiologist and mathematical modeller interested in modelling TB and assessing the impacts of interventions at the population level. She received her undergraduate training in Mathematics (BSc Hons), followed by an MPH and a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, all from the University of Cape Town. Her PhD research focused on modelling TB, the effect of HIV on TB, and the drivers of high rates of TB in men in South Africa. This involved extending an existing mathematical model of HIV in South Africa (the Thembisa model) to include TB transmission dynamics. She currently works at the Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office, conducting economic evaluations of TB programmatic interventions and supporting the development of the South African TB Investment case. She has been a member of the TB Think for the last four years and now serves as the chair of the Epidemiology, Modelling and Health Economics Task Team.
Is a public health researcher at the South African Medical Research Council with expertise in health systems, implementation and clinical research in TB, RR-TB and HIV. Recently her research has focussed on pregnant women with RR-TB, reporting treatment, pregnancy and infant outcomes in this vulnerable population. Since 2018 Dr Loveday has been a member of the executive committee of the TB Think Tank. In 2021, she was invited to be a member of the WHO working group on TB in adolescents and children. She has honorary appointments at CAPRISA and the University of the Free State.
The work of the TB TT is operationalised and executed through Task Teams which are established in alignment with national priorities.
Currently, the TB Think Tank has 5 Task Teams as outlined below:
Finding Missing TB Patients focuses on all steps relating to broadening the reach of screening and diagnosis – including new diagnostic tools and improving algorithms, reaching high-risk populations, and strategies to reduce initial loss to follow-up. Service delivery issues related to testing delays and populations not accessing the formal health sector also fall under its purview.
Optimising Treatment Outcomes focuses on new treatment regimens and dosages as well as retention in care. This Task Team also considers multi-morbidities associated with TB, reducing TB-related mortality, and issues relating to service delivery and person-centred care.
The Epidemiology, Modelling, and Health Economics Task Team utilises national laboratory and clinical notification data as well as primary research and locally-based models to answer questions of primary importance to TB prevention and control. The Task Team also considers economic and impact analyses of TB-related interventions and policies.
The TB Prevention Task Team focuses on preventive therapy and adherence to preventive therapy, TB infection control, and consideration of future vaccine candidates.
The newest of the Task Teams, Data Systems and Innovation will focus on advancing data access and integrating national clinical and laboratory data to improve continuity of care and facilitate better monitoring and evaluation. Other service innovations will also be taken up by this Task Team.
