Legacy Society in conversation: How the paths of a businessman and a scientist crossed and converged in the fight against malaria

LEGACY SOCIETY IN CONVERSATION: HOW THE PATHS OF A BUSINESSMAN

AND SCIENTIST CROSSED AND CONVERGED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA

Professor Kelly Chibale, Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery and Development, University of Cape Town; Neville Isdell, former Chairman and CEO, Coca-Cola Company

Tuesday 20 January  3.00 pm

This lecture is FREE but booking is essential to secure a place.

Malaria remains important in Africa due to its significant impact on health and socio-economic development. Aside from the significant morbidity and mortality it causes in Africa, malaria is a disease of poverty and a cause of poverty. More than two-thirds of all malaria deaths occur in children under five years old. Reaching the overall goal of eliminating malaria will require halting disease transmission.

It is noteworthy that the development of new tools for malaria elimination is pointless without access to the affected communities. There needs to be greater engagement between the affected communities and scientists. An excellent model of community engagement is exemplified by the Isdell: Flowers Cross Border Malaria Initiative (IFCBMI), which is committed to malaria elimination through community mobilisation along the shared borders of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The IFCBMI brings together governments, international partners and scientists with the Anglican church, non-governmental organisations, traditional leaders and community activists from the target countries.

This conversation will highlight how the paths of Neville Isdell (a businessman) and Kelly Chibale (a scientist) crossed and converged in the fight to eliminate malaria in Africa.

TO BOOK: https://www.webtickets.co.za/performance.aspx?itemid=1575225299

Kelly Chibale is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Cape Town (UCT) where he holds the Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery & Development. He is also a Schmidt Sciences AI2050 Senior Fellow, founding Director of the South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery & Development Research unit at UCT, and Founder & Director of the UCT Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre and H3D Foundation.

Neville Isdell is a businessman and former chair and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company. In his 43 years with the company, he ran divisions in 11 countries, on four continents. He has served on several public company boards, including General Motors. He awarded the Fullbright Prize for International Understanding, to Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Vaclev Havel and Franz Vrantzky “which recognises individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution towards bringing people, cultures or nations to a greater understanding of others”.

Neville is a generous donor to UCT and continues to be involved with UCT. He is the current President of the UCT Rugby Club; he is a proud Smuts Hall Fellow and for many years financially supported the annual Smuts Hall Neville Isdell Leadership camp which was attended by all students in Smuts Hall (now Upper Campus Residence). He funds the Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery and Development, in the Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D) at UCT led by Kelly Chibale