Dr Nono Simelela is the Director of the Technical Knowledge and Support Division in IPPF Central Office in London.

The Technical Knowledge and Support Division is the technical hub of the Federation, responsible for developing technical  guidelines, norms and standards as well as training tools for the implementation of IPPF’s sexual and reproductive health services.   

Prior to joining IPPF, Nono worked for 20 years in the Department of Health of The Republic of South Africa, initially as a senior lecturer and clinician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the Medical University of Southern Africa.

Then she was the Head of the National HIV/AIDS/TB Programme in the Ministry of Health in South Africa, a position she held from 1998-2004.

She led the early national programmes in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and played a pivotal role in the implementation of the country’s Antiretroviral Treatment Programme.

She was a Member of South Africa’s first National Committee for the Confidential Enquiry on Maternal Deaths. 

The first black South African woman to qualify as a specialist Obstetrician, Gynaecologist, Nono Simelela is passionate about ensuring access to quality reproductive and sexual health services for women and young people across the world.