Tlaleng Mofokeng is a distinguished lecturer at the O’Neill Institute and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health.
Mofokeng is the medical director of the DISA clinic, a women’s health clinic, in Johannesburg. In July 2020, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Mofokeng as the special rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. She is also a senior lecturer in gender, culture, and HIV at the Africa Center for HIV/AIDS Management at Stellenbosch University.
Mofokeng has expertise in global health equity, sexual and reproductive health rights, safe and legal abortion, comprehensive sexuality education, sex work decriminalization, advocacy training for health care professionals, and broadcasting.
A globally-renowned advocate and thought leader, Mofokeng was recently named to BBC’s Top 100 Women in 2021 and serves as a contributor to NPR, BBC, WNYC, and SABC. She is widely published in, but not limited to, Teen Vogue, the Guardian, the Lancet, Project Syndicate, and Essence. She is also a bestselling author of “Dr. T: A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure.”
Formerly, Mofokeng served as commissioner for the Commission for Gender Equality in South Africa, appointed by the president of South Africa. She is a current member of the boards of the International Partnership for Microbicides, Global Advisory Board for Sexual Health and Wellbeing, Accountability International, and Soul City Institute for Social Justice.
Mofokeng earned a medical degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban and a postgraduate certificate in health economics and policy from the London School of Economics.
