KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Chief Executive Officer of the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation
Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town
South Africa
Prof Linda-Gail Bekker is an internationally renowned scientist, physician, infectious disease specialist and a former president of the International AIDS Society. She is the Chief Executive Officer of the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation and Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In July 2024, she received a standing ovation at the 25th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) after announcing the results of the PURPOSE 1 Trial that demonstrated that lenacapavir is 100% effective in preventing HIV transmission. As a member of various international scientific and advisory committees, she is able to share an international perspective on the intersection and interaction of public health with politics and policy, on antiretroviral roll-out and TB integration, prevention of HIV in women, youth and MSM, and health equity as a whole.