Committee
Dr Adriaan Daniels
Adriaan Daniels is a neonatologist and Head of the Department of Neonatology at Mowbray Maternity Hospital, affiliated with the University of Cape Town. He has trained and worked in neonatal units across South Africa, Ireland, and Australia, and is committed to improving neonatal outcomes in resource limited settings. He is actively involved in neonatology training locally and through the African Paediatric Fellowship Programme. His clinical and research interests include neonatal respiratory care and haemodynamic management, including neonatologist performed echocardiography.
A/Prof Lisa Frigati
Lisa Frigati is a paediatric infectious disease specialist and an Associate Professor at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. It has been her privilege to work with children living with HIV and their families for over twenty years in South Africa and in other resource limited settings. Her main focus areas are paediatric advanced HIV disease, Tuberculosis and Congenital Syphilis. (Lisa Frigati FCPaeds, Diploma of HIV medicine, MMED, Masters of Tropical Medicine and International Health (LSHTM), Cert Paed ID, PhD.)
A/Prof James Nuttall
James Nuttall is a Paediatric Infectious Diseases Sub-Specialist and Head of the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town and an Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town. He has been a member of the Provincial Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee since 2016. He is the immediate past president of the Southern African Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases and previous chair of the Child and Adolescent Committee of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society. He is also a member of the Western Cape and National Paediatric Third Line Antiretroviral Therapy Review Committees. Current areas of interest include HIV/TB co-infection and antimicrobial stewardship.
A/Prof Lloyd Tooke
Lloyd Tooke is a neonatologist working at the Groote Schuur Hospital neonatal unit, which is affiliated with the University of Cape Town where he is an associate professor. He has special interests in congenital and acquired infections of the newborn, and the care of the preterm infant in resource-limited settings. He is involved with innovative surfactant research with the Gates Foundation and has close ties to the Vermont Oxford Network and the African Paediatric Fellowship Programme. Life highlights include traveling through Africa in a Land Rover and running after his 3 children.
Dr Hafsah Tootla
Hafsah Deepa Tootla trained at the University of Cape Town and is a clinical microbiologist based at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. She spent 7 years in the clinical domain across various disciplines before switching to laboratory medicine. She has over 12 years of experience in medical microbiology, and over 6 years being based in a paediatric-specific hospital. She has a special interest in antimicrobial resistance and in particular carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, antimicrobial stewardship, the use of novel antibiotics and rapid diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, all with a focus on impacting and improving childhood health.
Dr Papani Gasela
Dr Papani Gasela is the Head of Divison and subspecialist consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town. She provides clinical leadership and governance, leads service delivery and training platforms, and contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, clinical training, and research in child and adolescent mental health.
Dr Lyndal Gibbs
Dr Lyndal Gibbs is a Paediatric Critical Care Fellow (MBBCh(Wits), DCH(SA), MMed(Paeds)(UCT), FCPaed(SA), Dip Pal Med(Paeds)(UCT)). Lyndal qualified as a paediatrician in 2017 and did her postgraduate diploma in paediatric palliative care through UCT in 2018. She worked for Paedspal for the past 7 years, heading up the hospital-based and private practice services, as well as lecturing undergraduate and postgraduate students at UCT. Lyndal is proud to be a nerd, and is completing a Masters in Bioethics and Health Law through Wits University. She is passionate about integrating palliative care into daily practice, and is currently doing a Fellowship in paediatric critical care at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. She is a firm believer in the power of compassion, coffee and glitter.
Dr Yasmin Goga
Dr Yasmin Goga is a paediatric clinical haematologist. She obtained her MBBCH from the University of Witwatersrand, and then completed her FCPaeds (CMSA). She has additional training in ethics, palliative care and public health. She is currently based at Greys Hospital, Pietermaritzberg, and has previously worked in the paediatric haematology oncology unit at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, and the Haemophilia Comprehensive Care Centre at King Edward Hospital, Durban, South Africa from 2003 - 2022. Her areas of interest include the leukaemia’s and lymphomas, aplastic anaemia, haemolytic disorders including thalassaemia and haemophilia. She is involved in the South African Haemophilia Guidelines, the SA Haemophilia registry, national and provincial palliative care guidelines as well as the paediatric Hodgkins disease national protocol. She is the current chair of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee for Haemophilia. She has been supportive of efforts to improve patient advocacy, education and empowerment and children’s rights.
A/Prof Marc Hendricks
Marc Hendricks is a paediatric oncologist at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and an associate professor at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. The focus of his academic profile is childhood cancer, specifically malignant extracranial germ cell (MECGTs) and sex cord stromal tumours (SCSTs). As a recipient of the prestigious Professor Bongani Mayosi Netcare Clinical Scholarship in 2020, Marc was awarded his PhD (UCT) in 2024 for the development, implementation and prospective evaluation of the first national treatment guideline for children with MEGCTs and SCSTs (MEGCT-2016). He is the clinical lead for the MECGT-2016 project and the African Germ Cell Tumour Working Group which is expanding germ cell tumour research into Africa. Marc is the first African clinical researcher to be invited to become a member of the Malignant Germ Cell Tumour International Consortium (MaGIC), a testament to the strength of his work in this field. He is the current vice chairperson of the South African Association of Paediatric Haematology Oncology (SAAPHO) and lead of the National Child and Adolescent Blood and Cancer Research Platform (SEARCH - South African Excellence and Advancement in Research in Childhood Haematology- Oncology). Marc is also a musician and continues to explore intersections between oncology and music as a teacher and content creator for the inter-faculty Critical Health Humanities Master’s programme at UCT.
Dr Tamara Kerbelker
Tamara Kerbelker is a paediatrician based in the Division of Ambulatory and Emergency Paediatrics at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. She brings a broad range of clinical and leadership experience in child health, with a particular interest in improving healthcare delivery through education. Tamara is passionate about teaching paediatrics to healthcare professionals across all levels, ensuring that learning is tailored, accessible, and clinically relevant.
Dr Michelle Meiring
Dr Michelle Meiring is a Palliative Care Paediatrician who has worked in this field for 20 years. She is the founder and CEO of Paedspal and works 20 hours a week for the organisation. Michelle’s other job is to convene the Post-Graduate Diploma in Paediatric Palliative Care at the University of Cape Town. She is an accomplished speaker and has presented at several local and international conferences. She was also one of four editors of the latest edition of the Oxford Textbook on Palliative Care for Children. A long-standing child health and palliative care advocate since her “Paeds HIV-days”, Michelle chairs the national network for Children’s Palliative care known as PatchSA and has been involved at provincial and national levels in policy making in palliative care in South Africa.
Dr Shirani Naidoo
Dr Shirani Naidoo is a Paediatric Consultant in the Division of Emergency and Ambulatory Paediatrics at Red Cross Children’s Hospital, where she has served since 2012. She completed her specialist and subspecialist training in Paediatric Allergy at Red Cross and subsequently spent five years in private practice. Her clinical expertise spans Ambulatory and Emergency Paediatrics, and in 2024 she was formally registered as a Paediatric Emergency Specialist. Dr Naidoo is passionate about ongoing medical education and is an active part of the Postgraduate Teaching Committee and is an examiner across several CMSA portfolio’s. She actively contributes to mentorship programs and faculty development initiatives. Her professional interests include paediatric emergency care, allergy, and improving systems for acute care delivery.
Dr Tracey Nupen
Dr Tracey Nupen is a Paediatrician with a postgraduate diploma in Paediatric Palliative Medicine from UCT. She has a decade of experience in this field and advocates strongly for the integration of the palliative care approach at all healthcare levels. She works in the multidisciplinary clinic at Paedspal, a non-profit organisation caring holistically for children with significant health-related symptoms. Tracey lectures and examines for the UCT Postgraduate Diploma of Palliative Medicine.
Dr Larko Owusu (Ghana)
Dr Larko D Owusu is a fellow of the Ghana college of physicians and surgeons and a member of the west African college of Physicians. She also holds a PG diploma in clinical emergency paediatrics from the University of Capetown. She has fourteen years experience working in the emergency department. She is a trainer in Paediatric Emergency and Critical care with the Ghana college of physicians and surgeons. She's an adjunct lecturer at the department of paediatrics with the College of Health Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and technology. She is also and adjunct lecturer with the paediatric department of the Ghana college of nurses and midwives. She has keen interest in sepsis,paediatric resuscitation, paediatric pain assessment management , simulation based training. She is involved in a number of researches in paediatrics. She loves to read and tour.
A/Prof Shamiel Salie
Dr Shamiel Salie has been a PICU Consultant at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital since 2006 and was appointed as the PICU Medical Director in 2020. He has varied interests, the main ones being infectious diseases, the provision of respiratory support and the management of children post cardiac surgery. He is actively involved in education and the of training junior doctors and nurses. He is the Director of the Advanced Paediatric Life Support course in South Africa and a Co-ordinator of the Paediatric Basic Assessment and Support in ICU course.
Prof Indumathy Santhanam (India)
Prof Indumathy Santhanam is the Project Coordinator at the Regional Collaborative Center – National Health Mission and leads the Pediatric Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine Simulation Laboratory at the Institute of Child Health, Madras Medical College. She serves as a state trainer for PREM (Pediatric Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine) in Tamil Nadu and has established and mentors PREM units across 116 hospitals, including sub-district, DHQ, Taluk, and medical college facilities. Prof Santhanam is the Editor-in-Chief of PREM for Low- and Middle-Income Countries and Pediatric Emergency Medicine – India. She also chairs the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Special Interest Group within the Society of Emergency Medicine India. Her contributions to pediatric emergency medicine have been recognised with the Best Doctor Award from MGR Medical University in 2011 and the Best Doctor Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2019.
Dr Waheba Slamang
Dr Waheba Slamang (MBChB (UCT) FCPaed (SA) PG Dip Paediatric Rheumatology (Cum Laude) Certificate Paediatric Rheumatology (SA) MPhil Paediatric Rheumatology (UCT) Cum Laude) is a paediatric rheumatologist based in Cape Town, South Africa. She works with Tin Soldiers Global, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving care for children with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) and other musculoskeletal conditions. Her current work focuses on education and capacity-building to strengthen care networks for children with musculoskeletal conditions. Dr Slamang contributes to several global initiatives and publications that advance equitable access to medicines for paediatric rheumatology, including updates to the World Health Organization and National Essential Medicines Lists. She is a key member of the Global Paediatric Musculoskeletal Task Force, and actively supports the Paediatric Rheumatology European Society, and the Paediatric society of the African League Against Rheumatism. A committed advocate for patients and their families, Dr Slamang remains inspired by the unwavering support of her family, their rescue dog and cat.
Terika Steenkamp
Terika Steenkamp is a medical social worker with a Master degree in Social Work (2016) and an Honours degree in Psychology (2022). Her experience in the private sector has made her well versed in counselling, educating, and coordinating holistic care, discharge planning, survivorship counselling, and bereavement support. Before joining Paedspal in 2024, she worked as a medical social worker in a Haematology Unit and at Cancer Care providing psychosocial support and counselling, and also has experience in private practice offering palliative care and end-of-life counselling for oncology patients and their families. She loves the ocean, walking along the beach, being active, doing Pilates and especially dancing. She also loves cooking, and spending time with family is very precious to her.
Dr Krishna Thottekkat
Dr Krishna Thottekkat is a Palliative Care Paediatrician who provides specialist care to children at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and through Paedspal’s private service. She completed her MBChB at the University of Pretoria, earned her Diploma in Child Health (DCH) while working in KwaZulu-Natal, and later obtained her FCPaed (SA) and MMed from the University of the Free State. She is committed to strong patient advocacy and sees paediatrics as a place where she can champion the needs of children. Palliative care allows her to extend that advocacy further by protecting the dignity and humanity of patients in complex situations.
Prof Aneesa Vanker
Professor Vanker (MBCHB (UKZN), FCPaed (CMSA), MMed (SU), CertPulm Paed (CMSA), PhD (UCT)) is a paediatric pulmonologist at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa, where she is involved in the care of children with a wide range of both congenital and acquired respiratory conditions. She completed her paediatric pulmonology training at Tygerberg Children’s Hospital and Stellenbosch University in 2010. She is also a clinical researcher with a particular interest in the environmental determinants of childhood lung diseases, which was the subject of her PhD entitled “Indoor air pollution and environmental tobacco smoke exposure in a South African birth cohort study” and continues working in this field. Prof Vanker is vice-president of the South African Thoracic Society, board member of the Indian Ocean Pulmonology Society (SPOI) and a member of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) Environmental Committee. She also serves on the South African National Department of Health Air Quality and Health Focus Group and the National Environmental Consultative and Advisory (NECA) 3A forum, an air quality advisory committee to the South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
A/Prof Kate Webb
Prof Kate Webb (MBChB, PhD) is a clinician–scientist and Head of the Paediatric Rheumatology Division at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She leads one of the only fully integrated paediatric rheumatology clinical and research programmes in Africa, focusing on Kawasaki Disease, childhood lupus, and other rare immune-mediated diseases. Her group combines advanced immunology techniques with clinical cohorts to uncover mechanisms of inflammation in African children. Professor Webb is also deeply committed to developing local research capacity, mentoring the next generation of clinician–scientists, and building equitable global collaborations in child health research.