Sonke Gender Justice is pleased to announce that beginning March 1, Vuyiseka Dubula joins Sonke as head of the Policy Development and Advocacy Programme. In this portfolio, she will oversee Sonke’s work with the Commission for Gender Equality, the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence, and South Africa’sParliament.
Dubula is the outgoing Secretary General of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), and a globally respected activist on issues of HIV treatment literacy and women’s rights. She has been a role model for women living with HIV since she joined TAC in 2002 as a Literacy Co-ordinator. She later became Provincial Co-ordinator for the Western Cape and then National Co-ordinator before taking up the duties of General Secretary in 2008. Dubula has been Chairperson of the board of the AIDS Law Project since 2008 and is currently a board member at CorruptionWatch.
She holds a BA in Health Sciences and Social Services from UNISA, with a specialisation in Applied Psychology and a postgraduate diploma and an MPhil in HIV/AIDS Management from the University of Stellenbosch. Her work on behalf of people living with HIV has garnered her two prestigious international awards – the Letten Foundation Courageous Leadership Award in 2004 and, in 2010, the Lloyd Foundation Leadership Award, which recognises, develops and empowers HIV/AIDS advocacy leadership.
She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of KwaZulu Natal.
