Tlaleng Mofokeng is a South African physician who is the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health. She campaigns for universal health access and HIV care.[1] She was named one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021.
Mofokeng worked at Higher Education and Training HIV/AIDS Program (HEAIDS) on an educational video series to mitigate HIV in South Africa. She also presented medical documentaries for Al Jazeera. In 2015, Mofokeng joined International SOS, where she was responsible for medical care in Johannesburg. In this capacity, she served as Chair of the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition of South Africa.[4]
Mofokeng has focused on gender equality, neonatal health, and the management of HIV. She was made the country lead of Global Doctors for Choice in 2017 and Commissioner for Gender Equality in 2019. She has taken on domestic violence in court, making use of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.[5]
Mofokeng usually goes under the title "Dr. T".[11] Her first book, Dr. T: A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure, a bestseller, was published by Picador in 2021.[12] The Sunday Sun described how "the magic is contained in its warm, motherly, vulnerable and non-judgmental delivery".[12] She is leading the delivery of Sentebale, a mobile app that supports the physical and mental wellbeing of young people in Africa impacted by HIV.[13]
Mofokeng is an advocate for universal health access and adolescent health. She serves as an advisor of the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health Gender & Health Hub.[14]
She was one of the many UN experts who spoke out against the sale of arms to Israel in June 2024 as a result of the conflict in Gaza. The experts cautioned arms suppliers and finance companies that they would be implicated in human rights violations. The signatories to the warning included special reporteurs Paula Gaviria Betancur, Margaret Satterthwaite and Francesca Albanese.[15]
