Professor Helen Rees

GCOB, OBE, Officier de l'Ordre National du Mérite (France), D.Sc Medicine (hc), LLD (hc), MRCGP, MB BChir (CANTAB), MA, DCH, DRCOG, FAAS, ASSAF

Professor Helen Rees is internationally recognised as an award-winning global health practitioner who has dedicated her professional career to improving public health in Africa, with a focus on vaccine-preventable diseases, HIV, and sexual and reproductive health. Professor Rees is the Executive Director of Wits RHI at the University of the Witwatersrand, and co-founder and co-director of the Wits ALIVE. She is a personal professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Wits University, an Honorary Professor in the Department of Clinical Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and an Honorary Fellow at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge University. Her academic achievements include an honorary Doctor of Science (Medicine) from the University of London and an honorary Doctor of Law from Rhodes University, and Fellow of the South African and African Academies of Science. She holds a Doctor of Science (Medicine) honoris causa from the University of London and a Doctor of Laws honoris causa from Rhodes University, RSA.

Professor Rees chairs the boards of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and MedAccess, two non-profit global health organisations. IVI advances vaccine research and access in low- and middle-income countries, while MedAccess develops innovative financing models for essential health products. She has previously held senior leadership positions at Gavi, CEPI, and IAVI. Professor Rees has played a pivotal role in responding to global health emergencies such as Ebola, COVID-19, and Mpox. She has served on over 100 committees and advisory groups for the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa CDC, focusing on vaccines, emergency preparedness, and pandemic response. Professor Rees chairs the WHO’s African Regional Technical Advisory Group on Immunization, and co-chairs the WHO Poxvirus Collaborating Centre, dedicated to accelerating global development of medical countermeasures against the poxviruses. This is the only CORC led entirely from Africa. She has led several WHO International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committees, and currently chairs the IHR Emergency Committee on Polio Professor Rees is a member of the South African National Advisory Group on Immunization and co-chairs the South African Department of Health’s Incident Management Teams on Mpox and Vaccine-preventable diseases.

Her contributions to global health and public service have been recognised through numerous prestigious honours, including appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), South Africa’s National Order of the Baobab, Officer of the French National Order of Merit, the WHO Dr Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health, and the South African Platinum Batho Pele Award. She is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and has been recognised internationally as one of the leading voices shaping the future of public health, vaccines and scientific leadership in Africa.