Shakira Choonara
- Wits University
Shakira Choonara is a young leader, researcher and activist at the forefront of public health – both locally and internationally.
In 2013 she accepted a position as an NRF intern at the Centre for Health Policy, University of the Witwatersrand. She is currently awaiting graduation for her doctoral studies in Public Health, which she pursued in 2014, focusing on strengthening financial management in the South African health sector. In 2015, the resident of the United Nations General Assembly invited her to attend the UN General Assembly as a youth representative of South Africa for the adoption of the historic Sustainable Development
Goal (SDG) Summit. During Women’s Month in 2016, she was profiled on various local and national radio stations for her role in healthcare and was subsequently invited to give the keynote address at the opening of the Junior Public Health Conference held in East London. Some of her awards include the Emerging Voice (EV) for Global Health 2014; European Union (EU) Development Days Future Leader for Health 2015; and the Women of the Year in Healthcare Award from the Women of Stature Network, 2017.
