Western Cape Government: Health, Cape Town, South Africa

Dr. Frederick Marais is currently Deputy Director: Increasing Wellness, Western Cape Government: Health; and Extraordinary Senior Lecturer, Stellenbosch University; in Cape Town, South Africa. Prior to this he was Research Programme Manager at the Academic Unit for Infection Prevention and Control, and Senior Lecturer, Stellenbosch University. Frederick has extensive international experiences in public health with specialism in communicable diseases, sexual health, infection prevention and control, health and wellness promotion, and in participatory and transversal approaches to build healthy communities. He has worked in diverse fields in the United Kingdom (UK), Swaziland, and in the USA where he completed scholarships. Prior to taking up employment in South Africa in 2007, he was a UK Medical Research Council Fellow at Imperial College London to investigate structural influences on TB and healthcare access with African migrants, using Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR). Frederick has instigated, participated in, and coordinated numerous national and international collaborative and CBPR projects in communicable diseases and related fields. His international work advocates integrated health and community systems strengthening for participatory public health. He has conducted or co-conducted multiple trainings on community-engagement for community, academic and other partners at leading academic institutions and organisations in London, San Francisco, Kenya, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Frederick has published several peer and community-reviewed articles related to participatory public health, and very recently instigated and co-authored a paper in Health Promotion International on a community-engaged IPC approach to Ebola. Integral to his work is advocacy for a paradigm shift to transform people hitherto regarded as passive research subjects and recipients of care into active co-partners for health and wellness. Frederick holds a PhD in Public Health (UK), MSc Public Health (UK), MSc Health Promotion (UK), and a BSc. Hons: Sexual Health (UK).