Linda-Gail Bekker
Committee of Recommendation
Brief info
Linda-Gail Bekker is Professor of Medicine and Chief Operating Officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. She is also Director of the Desmund Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town. She is a Past President of the International AIDS Society (2016-18).
Bekker is passionate about engagement with communities and peer led education programs. Her community work looks to overcome stigma related to HIV and Tuberculosis. The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, where Bekker serves as Chief Operating Officer, supports the wellbeing of people in South Africa's poorest communities.
In 2016 she was elected President of the International AIDS Society. She gave the opening address at the International AIDS Society Conference in Paris, where she spoke about new prevention options such as Pre-exposure prophylaxis. In 2018 she was elected to the board of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.