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Jerry Coovadia
Born
Hoosen Mahomed Coovadia

(1940-08-02)2 August 1940
Durban, Natal Province
Union of South Africa
Died4 October 2023(2023-10-04) (aged 83)
Durban, South Africa
Spouse
Zubeida Hamed
​
(m. 1969)​
Children

Hoosen Mahomed "Jerry" Coovadia (2 August 1940 – 4 October 2023) was a South African medical doctor, academic, and former anti-apartheid activist. He was previously the Victor Daitz Emeritus Chair and Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Nelson Mandela School of Medicine.

Biography

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Hoosen Mahomed Coovadia was born in Durban, South Africa, on 2 August 1940.[1] His grandparents had emigrated from India to South Africa in the 1880s. Coovadia attended St. Anthony’s, a Catholic school, and later Sastri College, a high school.[2]

Coovadia briefly attended Medical School at the University of Natal, which at that time was racially stratified, before moving to Bombay, India for medical training.[2] He was accepted at the Grant Medical College at the University of Bombay. After graduating, he returned to Durban to work at the King Edward VIII Hospital. He worked in pediatrics at the University of Natal and the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa and then went to the University of Birmingham, earning his M.Sc. in Immunology in 1974. He then rejoined the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Natal, receiving an M.D. in 1978.[2]

He was appointed associate professor at the University of Natal in 1982 and Ad Hominem Professor in 1986. From 1990 to 2000, he served as professor and head of paediatrics and child health at the University of Natal. He has since served as the Victor Daitz Chair in HIV/AIDS Research, Director of Biomedical Science at the Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking (HIVAN), and the scientific director of the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu Natal.[2]

Coovadia was involved in the leadership of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the 1970s. He became chairman of the Commission on Maternal and Child Health, created by the Mandela government.[3] He served on the executive of the National Medical and Dental Association (NAMDA), formed in 1982.[4][5] In the 1980s, Coovadia focused on issues of malnutrition and childhood diseases, but then expanded his focus to include AIDS, particularly mother-to-child transmission.[6][7] He was a vocal critic of the AIDS policies of Thabo Mbeki's government and campaigned actively for the use of antiretroviral therapy. In 2000, he served as co-chair of the International AIDS Conference in Durban.[6][8]

"“He is an impeccable scientist, lots of integrity. He is a great leader in child health in South Africa, Africa, and internationally. He is an icon.” Glenda Gray, Director, Perinatal HIV Research Unit, University of Witwatersrand[6]

Coovadia died on 4 October 2023 at his home in Durban after a period of declining health.[1]

After Professor Coovadia's death, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa said, “Our nation’s loss will be felt globally, but we can take pride at and comfort from the emergence of a giant of science and an icon of compassion and resilience from our country.” [9]

Professor Coovadia mentored a number of notable students including Professor Salim Abdool Karim, Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim and the Fulbright Scholar Anand Reddi.[10][11]

Awards and Honors

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Works

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  • Host Allergic Response Variation in Children with Measles Infection,[16] University of Natal, Durban, 1977
  • John Ehiri (3 October 2009). "Impact of HIV on the Health of Women Children and Families in Less Developed Countries". Maternal and Child Health: Global Challenges, Programs, and Policies. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 270–. ISBN 978-0-387-89245-0.

References

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  1. ^ a b Nolen, Stephanie (12 October 2023). "Hoosen Coovadia, Medical Force in South Africa's H.I.V. Fight, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Jeeva. "Professor Hoosen "Jerry" Mahomed Coovadia". South African History Online. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Hoosen Jerry Coovadia". 4 June 2015.
  4. ^ Coovadia, H. M. (1999). "Sanctions and the struggle for health in South Africa". American Journal of Public Health. 89 (10): 1505–1508. doi:10.2105/ajph.89.10.1505. PMC 1508795. PMID 10511831.
  5. ^ Digby, Anne (2006). Diversity and division in medicine : health care in South Africa from the 1800s. Oxford: Lang. p. 433. ISBN 9783039107155.
  6. ^ a b c Kapp, Clare (2009). "Hoosen Coovadia: an icon of South African health". The Lancet. 374 (9692): 777. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(09)61581-6. PMID 19733772. S2CID 135448373.
  7. ^ Mbali, Mandisa (2013). South African AIDS activism and global health politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 31. ISBN 9780230360624.
  8. ^ "Jerry Coovadia on HIV/AIDS in Africa", Radio Netherlands Archives, July 23, 2001
  9. ^ "President Cyril Ramaphosa mourns passing of pre-eminent scientist and veteran activist Prof Hoosen "Jerry" Coovadia | South African Government". www.gov.za. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  10. ^ Karim, Salim Abdool. "TRIBUTE | Salim Abdool Karim: We've lost a great scientist with Jerry Coovadia's passing". News24. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  11. ^ Reddi, Anand; Leeper, Sarah C.; Grobler, Anneke C.; Geddes, Rosemary; France, K. Holly; Dorse, Gillian L.; Vlok, Willem J.; Mntambo, Mbali; Thomas, Monty; Nixon, Kristy; Holst, Helga L.; Karim, Quarraisha Abdool; Rollins, Nigel C.; Coovadia, Hoosen M.; Giddy, Janet (17 March 2007). "Preliminary outcomes of a paediatric highly active antiretroviral therapy cohort from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa". BMC Pediatrics. 7 (1): 13. doi:10.1186/1471-2431-7-13. ISSN 1471-2431. PMC 1847430. PMID 17367540.
  12. ^ "South African Medical Association". www.samedical.org. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Remembering Hoosen Jerry Coovadia". International AIDS Society. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Membership Directory". U.S. National Academy of Medicine. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ^ "2013 AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award Goes to Hoosen Coovadia, a Children's Health Advocate, of South Africa | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ^ Coovadia, Hoosen Mahomed. Host allergic response variation in children with measles infection. OCLC 861191762.
[edit]
Scholia has a profile for Hoosen Coovadia (Q20656400).
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