Champion Nyoni (Chairperson) (RN, BSc N (Hons), M Soc. Sc. (Nursing), PhD) is the Facilitator of AfrIPEN. Champion is a research fellow with the School of Nursing of the University of the Free State in South Africa. He is originally from Zimbabwe, where he did is undergraduate education. He has practiced in three sub-Saharan African countries and been involved in health professions education specifically in faculty development, competency-based education and sustaining curricular innovations. He is a fellow and faculty of the sub-Sahara Africa FAIMER regional institute and holds an International Fellowship in Medical Education.

Firdouza Waggie (Vice-Chairperson) (BSc, MSc, PhD), is a registered physiotherapist and senior lecturer at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) as well as the founding member of AfrIPEN. She is the director of the Interprofessional Education Unit (IPEU) at the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences (FCHS) in UWC. She is an advocate for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) in higher education, health and social services. Additionally, she provides leadership, management and contributes to the development of an IPECP niche at the UWC through i) Facilitating the development of intra/extra IPECP curricula opportunities and programmes; ii) IPECP capacity building; iii) Initiating and conducting collaborative research and; iv) networking and forging collaborative partnerships with national and international IPECP role players. Her pioneering efforts aim to transform Health Professions Education at the UWC and beyond.

Farhin Delawala (PR & Communications) (BA, PGCE, BA Hons, MHSc) leads the marketing for AfrIPEN. She is currently a full-time PhD student focusing on Interprofessional Education research at the North-West University’s (NWU) Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS). She has experience in quantitative and integrative literature review research with exposure to qualitative studies. Her background in psychology and education added to her interest in holistic healthcare, gearing her studies towards Interprofessional Education (IPE). At present, her main focus is on IPE development through research, within the South African higher education context and aiming towards holistic health education at the NWU.

Dr Christmal Christmals (Treasurer) is a scholar in Health Professions Education and Human Resources for Health (HRH) Policy niche areas. At health systems-level, Dr Christmals research centres on health workforce policy and its implications on Health Professions Education. At health workforce training level, Christmal focuses on health professions curricula development, interprofessional education and clinical education. As a Joanna Briggs Institute trained Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis Expert, Dr Christmals is a respected review and evidence synthesis methodologist who has been a consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) on health systems, especially health workforce planning, training, financing and policy in Africa. Dr Christmals is the Chairperson of the Health Professions Education Scientific Committee and a member of the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University (NWU). He is the coordinator for the postgraduate programme at the Centre for Health Professions Education. Prior to joining the NWU, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Foundation funded South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI)-Chair for Research on Health Workforce for Equity and Quality, Centre for Health Policy, Wits School of Public Health.

Elize Pietersen (Secretariat) (RN), Hon.B.Soc.Sc (Nursing), Hon.B.Soc.Sc (Psychology), M.Soc.Sc (Psychiatric nursing), PhD Med holds the position of secretariat at AfrIPEN. Elize is a nurse research specialist in South Africa. She delivered clinical care at rural and tertiary hospitals, was a lecturerer at the University of the Free State and Free State College of Nursing. The past 28 years she has been involved in clinical research studies related to psychiatric genetics; colorectal cancer genetics; a randomised control trial related to colorectal adenoma polyp prevention; latent tuberculosis infection among health care workers and drug-resistant tuberculosis. Elize is a co-author in Mental Health Nursing, 7th edition and Vlok’s Community Health. She serves on the editorial board of Primary Health Care Research and Development, Cambridge press.

AfrIPEN BOARD

• Estelle Viljoen – Sefako Makgato University
• Fiston Kitema – University of Rwanda
• Gerard Filies – University of the Western Cape 
• Gibson Masache – University of Malawi 
• Hanlie Pitout – Sefako Makgato University 
• Jana Muller – Stellenbosch University 
• Juliet Savanhu – Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham 
• Judy Khanyola – University of Global Health Equity 
• Luzaan Afrika – University of the Western Cape 
• Penny Orton – Durban University of Technology 
• Helga Lister – University of Pretoria 
• Moselene du Plessis – University of Pretoria 
• Nthabiseng Ramodisa – University of Pretoria 
• Renata Eccles – University of Pretoria 
• Shalote Chipamaungua-Bamu – University of Zimbabwe