MANAGEMENT
ABOUT THE
CANCER ALLIANCE
The Cancer Alliance is a collective group of cancer control non-profit organisations and cancer advocates brought together under a common mandate, to provide a platform of collaboration for cancer civil society to speak with one voice and be a powerful tool to affect change for all South African adults and children affected by cancer.
ABOUT US
The Cancer Alliance is a collective group of cancer control non-profit organisations and cancer advocates brought together under a common mandate, to provide a platform of collaboration for cancer civil society to speak with one voice and be a powerful tool to affect change for all South African adults and children affected by cancer.
Mark Heywood
is a social justice activist and former Executive Director and co-founder of SECTION27 as well as a co-founder of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). He sits on the Boards of several health and human rights NGOs in South Africa and internationally. In 2022 he was recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Public Health Association of SA (PHASA). He is currently editor of Maverick Citizen, a section of the Daily Maverick that focuses on activism, human rights and social justice. He is also adjunct Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town; a distinguished visitor at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center; and a visiting scholar at the Bonavero Institute for Human Rights, Oxford University. He has written numerous articles on law, human rights, HIV/AIDS, health and literature and edited and written several books, including a book of poetry I Write What I Fight (2015) and a memoir, Get Up! Stand Up! Personal Journeys Towards Social Justice (2017).
Jennifer Moodley
is a Public Health Medicine physician with experience in health systems research, epidemiology, advocacy and public policy development. She has worked as a clinician in rural and urban health care settings and has first-hand experience of the challenges in providing health care in resource-constrained environments. She has been involved in the development and implementation of diverse public health programs and policies; conducted health systems research to support provincial public health objectives and trained under- and post-graduates to meet similar responsibilities. As Director of Cancer Research in the Faculty of Health Sciences, UCT, her responsibilities include the development of a comprehensive, integrated cancer research programme and translation of research into clinical and public health benefit.
Salomé Meyer
Salomé is an independent cancer advocate with 25 years of experience – first as an advisor, then as an advocate for a National Cancer Control Plan, the Cancer Registration Regulation promulgated in 2011, and the cervical and breast cancer policies approved in 2017 and lately an activist for equitable and affordable cancer care for all. She joined the GAVI Civil Society Organisation Steering Committee in Jan 2024. She serves on the following representing Civil Society:
- MPP Community Advisory Panel
- UNITAID NGO delegation for cervical cancer
- GAVI Civil Society Steering Committee
- African Cervical Health Alliance (ACHA) Steering Committee
- Women’s Empowerment Cancer Advocacy Network for Africa (We Can)
Liana Roodt
Liana Roodt is a specialist breast and endocrine surgeon and affiliate senior consultant at the Groote Schuur Hospital Breast and Endocrine surgery unit. She also has a private surgical practice in Somerset West. Liana is the founder and a director of Project Flamingo working towards timely and holistic breast cancer care for patients dependent on the public healthcare sector by providing additional surgical lists with breast operations and strengthening the health care sector in various ways.
Dr Jacintha Deleane Toohey
I am a legal scholar with a strong foundation in law, ethics and human rights, a background in project management and international research collaborations. I hold a PhD in Law, a Masters in Medical Law, an LLB degrees, Diploma in Project Management and a Diploma in Information Systems. I have collectively, over 18 years of experience in engaging in international and national research project collaborations, including research ethics reviews, law, ethics and policy research, financial oversight, and multi-stakeholder engagement. I have and continue to support in research ethics capacity-building initiatives across Africa, South Africa and participate in ethics and integrity communities of practise globally ensuring national and institutional alignment with local and international developments for improving innovation and research- informed practices. I am very committed to collaborative development, ethical leadership, and capacity building in multi-stakeholder environments as well as ensuring implementation of effective compliance mechanisms to improve both research institution, researcher and funder deliverables that promote responsible research conduct with integrity and academic excellence.
Louise Turner
Louise Turner is Chief Operating Officer and Director of the Breast Health NPC known as the Breast Health Foundation. A cancer survivor, she is focused on ensuring that people with breast cancer need not face it alone and giving hope to the newly-diagnosed. She is an advocate for patient rights, believing that everyone has a right to access lifesaving treatment, no matter what their income is or where they live