François Venter Professor WD François Venter, MD, FCP, PhD is the Divisional Director of Ezintsha at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he received most of his training.
He has an active interest in public sector access to HIV services, and his work involves health systems research that directly translates into national programmes, most recently involving dolutegravir and TAF. He leads multiple antiretroviral treatment optimisation studies and is currently working on new first and second-line antiretroviral options, patient linkage-to-care interventions, and self-testing projects. He has led large PEPFAR-funded HIV programmes in South Africa, focusing on different populations such as men, women, children, young people, truckers, sex workers and LGBTI.
For the last 20 years, he has been an advisor to bodies such as the South African government, Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, UNAIDS, and WHO, including contributing to international, regional, and national HIV guidelines. He has been involved in several human rights cases involving HIV within the Southern African region and has an active interest in medical ethics.