Shabir Banoo

Shabir Banoo holds the position of Chief Technical Specialist and Head: Pharmaceutical Policy and Programmes within Right to Care, a donor-funded non-profit organisation linked to the University of the Witwatersrand. In this role, he oversees Right to Care’s pharmaceutical technical assistance, research and support programmes to ministries of health in South Africa and several African countries. This focus is aimed at strengthening pharmaceutical policy, regulation and governance in public health programmes through implementation of best practices to improve patient management and care, particularly for HIV and related diseases. 

Shabir graduated with a degree in pharmacy from Rhodes University in 1986, later obtaining a doctorate in pharmacology from Rhodes University in 1992. He has previously held senior positions in government as well as in the private and NGO sectors. He has also held positions in academia and research at the University of Witwatersrand, and at Rhodes University as associate professor of pharmacology. Shabir has worked as a technical consultant for the South African Ministry of Health and has served on a number of advisory panels and task teams on national drug policy, medicine regulation, pharmaceutical pricing and public health. He has actively contributed to the development of national standard treatment guidelines and management policies including those for HIV, TB, maternal, child and woman’s health (MCWH) and malaria programs. 

Shabir currently serves as a Board member of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). He has previously served as a member of the former Medicines Control Council (MCC) of South Africa and on a number of its technical committees and task teams. He has contributed, in this role, to the modernization of the legislative and governance framework for medicine regulation, streamlining procedures and processes for registration, and developing guidelines and policies to support the registration of medicines and regulation of clinical trials. He also serves as a member of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) Treatment Technical Task Team. He is also a member of the Central Drug Authority (CDA) of South Africa and has served on the National Essential Medicines List Committee (NEMLC). Shabir serves on a number of international panels and is regularly called upon as a technical advisor to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international organisations and programmes. 

His technical areas of expertise include basic and clinical pharmacology, public health, pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance, health products and clinical trials regulation, health technology assessment, evidence-based medicine and rational medicine use, and pharmaceutical and commodity security.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY 

Right to Care, Chief Technical Specialist: Pharmaceutical Policy and Programmes 2010 – Present 

University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences (Honorary) 2010 – Present 

Management Sciences for Health (MSH), Cluster Manager: Clinical Programs 2006 – 2010 

National Department of Health (MCC), Regulatory Technical Consultant 2002 – 2005 

WHO/SA Drug Action Programme (SADAP/WHO), Technical Consultant 2002 – 2003 

Rhodes University, Associate Professor of Pharmacology 2000 – 2002 

University of the Witwatersrand, Lecturer/Senior Lecturer 1992 – 2000 

MEMBERSHIP OF STATUTORY BODIES AND COMMITTEES 

South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) (Board Member) 2018 – Present 

South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) (Member) 1996 – 2017 

MCC Scheduling and Names Technical Committee (Chair) 1997 – 2017 

MCC Clinical Trials Technical Committee (Member) 1998 – 2017 

MCC Pharmacovigilance Technical Committee (Member) 2000 – 2012