Professor Raziya Bobat is an Associate Professor and Principal Specialist in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine. She is Head of the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit.Professor Bobat is one of the pioneers in paediatric HIV infection in South Africa, with 30 years of experience in the field. She established the first paediatric HIV clinic in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, at the King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban. To date, the clinic has provided thousands of children with HIV care and antiretrovirals.Prof Bobat has published widely in the field of paediatric HIV infection, and conducted the first and only natural history study on vertically transmitted HIV infection, prior to the availability of ART. She has been the recipient of several large research grants, including, among others, from the NIH. She has established a paediatric HIV research facility at the King Edward VIII hospital, leading to participation in several international studies. She has been a member of several guidelines committees for paediatric HIV infection in South Africa, and has trained numerous doctors and nurses throughout the province of KwaZulu-Natal, both through outreach programmes, and through an HIV Diploma programme.Prof Bobat was one of the recipients of a Service Excellence Award from KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC, on behalf of the UKZN Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) team. She is a founding member of the South African Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Past President of the South African Paediatric Association.She was the recipient of an award from The Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative that allowed her to train in Paediatric HIV at the Baylor Institute in Houston, Texas. In addition, she spent a year gaining experience at the HIV unit in St Mary’s Hospital, London. She was the recipient of an award from The Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative that allowed her to train in Paediatric HIV at the Baylor Institute in Houston, Texas. In addition, she spent a year gaining experience at the HIV unit in St Mary’s Hospital, London.
