Dr Gloria Maimela is the Director of Climate and Health at Wits RHI. She provides oversight on various donor funded Climate Change and Health projects at Wits RHI. These projects aim to develop innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change on the health of vulnerable populations including pregnant women, infants and healthcare workers in Southern Africa.
Prior to this, Dr Maimela provided strategic oversight and technical input to over 1000 Wits RHI staff for the implementation of PEPFAR-funded HIV and TB programs across multiple districts in South Africa. She currently plays a leading role in the design and implementation of innovative climate change and health projects within Wits RHI. She is the Hub Administrator and co-principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Heat and Health in Africa Transdisciplinary (HE2AT) Center. She is also a local PI and co-PI of the European Union and Wellcome Trust-funded climate change and health projects that aim to design and evaluate the effectiveness of simple and complex adaptation and mitigation interventions to reduce the impact of heat exposure in pregnant women, infants and healthcare workers.
She is also a member of the Climate and Health Africa Network for Collaboration and Engagement (CHANCE) Network, and she recently chaired the 11th South African AIDS Conference and used this platform to raise awareness on the impact of climate change on health.