Gita Ramjee, a South African scientist that decicated many years of her life to finding the cure and prevention of HIV, has passed away from the COVID 19 virus.
Winnie Byanyima, the Head of UNAIDS referred to the death of Professor Gita Ramjee as a huge loss, especially at a time the world needed her the most.
Professor Gita Ramjee passed away on Tuesday, 31st of March, 2020 in a hospital in Durban, South Africa.
David Mabuza, the Deputy President of South Africa released a statement yesterday, Wednesday, 1st of April, saying that the world has lost a champion in the fight against the dreadful disease HIV. He praised Professor Gita Ramjee for her work in finding prevention methods for HIV that were conducive to lifestyle circumstances and risk factors faced by South African women for an attempt in finding a vaccine against the HIV.
South Africa has the highest number of HIV carriers in the world today. In 2012, Gita Ramjee received a Lifetime Achievement Award for HIV Prevention.
Gita Ramjee was born in Uganda and spent the majority of her childhood there. Her family was sent into exile by Idi Amin Dada Oumee, a military officer who became the President of Uganda.
Idi Amin Dada Oumee was known as the Butcher of Uganda and was considered one of the cruelest despots in the world’s history.
Gita Ramjee’s family returned to India where she attended high school. She graduated from the University in 1980 with B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry and Physiology from the University of Sunderland, England. She moved to Durban, South Africa after marrying a fellow student, a South African – Indian, Praveen Ramjee.
She began working in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical School of the University of KwaZulu – Natal, she got her Ph.D. in Kidney diseases of childhood. After her Ph.D., she became a scientist at the South African Medical Research Council where she later became the head of the HIV Prevention Research Unit.
By the time of her death, Professor Gita Ramjee was the Chief Scientific Officer at the Aurum Institute and the Director of the South African Medical Research Council’s Prevention Research Unit.