Jasantha Odayar is pursuing a PhD in Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. Jasantha grew up in rural South Africa during Apartheid in a community with extremely poor access to health care, high morbidity and mortality rates. She performed exceptionally well academically and was one of a limited number of black women admitted to UCT in the late 1990s. Dr Odayar’s chose to work in pediatrics at a public hospital because she was acutely aware of the extremely high numbers of ‘HIV orphans’ due in to part to the absence of antiretrovirals (ART) but also because of a lack of adherence to treatment programmes. She spent two years setting up and running the first paediatric ART clinic in the town where she was born. She is passionately committed to keeping HIV-positive women and children in care and adherent to treatment. She is currently a project manager on the Postpartum Adherence Clubs for Antiretroviral Therapy (PACART) study. The study focuses on post-natal care and adherence to ART for HIV positive women and children. She has been instrumental in setting up ART adherence clubs which are run by lay health workers in the community, emphasizing social support and adherence to ART treatments.

“Mobility has long been viewed as a male phenomenon. However, female mobility is increasing in South Africa. My goal is to improve access to care for HIV-positive women and children who are mobile and require treatment at multiple facilities. I believe that the health system should make it as easy as possible for patients to remain in care and live fulfilling lives.”