Meet HSEi’s Director
Dr Ntsikelelo Itumeleng Funani
Director
- 2005 – Diploma in Public Health, Wits University
- 1999 – Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree (MB ChB), University of Cape Town
Dr Funani has extensive experience in policy development and management across Africa. He has served as a technical advisor for the HIV, AIDS, STI and TB cluster, and worked as a technical advisor to the office of Director General National Department of Health in South Africa.
Dr Funani brings expertise in strategic planning, strategy development, policy implementation review, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, governance, and strategic partnerships. He has participated in high-level policy development processes, bringing global best practices and research-informed perspectives to African decision-making. For example, he helped develop the green paper on National Health Insurance in support of the office of the South African Director General of Health.
Dr Funani also brings a strong research background to HSEi—he served as a senior bio-behavioural clinical trials manager for the South African Medical Research Council, where he collaborated with several international partners, including Maastricht University. He also spent two years as the Director for the Albertina Sisulu Centre for Global Health and Research at Walter Sisulu University.
Dr Funani was appointed to the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits University to assist the dean with international partnerships and strategic government projects, and now co-leads HSEi.
Dr Funani is very interested in brining digital innovations, new contracting models for general practitioners, and alternative reimbursement models for hospitals to Africa.