… Hailed as Eswatini policy guru who is working alongside African leaders to eradicate malaria
BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– Another liSwati has placed the country on the map!
Policy maker and public health advocate, Phelele Fakudze, has been featured on the third episode of a new Apple Podcast, known as ‘A series of Ands’ (ASA).
ASA is a show about entrepreneurial women in Africa where they celebrate tastemakers in business who are continually innovating, empowering those around them and slaying in style.
In a digital space where African women are often underrepresented, Binja and Patience, the hosts who interviewed Fakudze, are two home girls hailing from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Central Africa) and the Republic of Liberia (West Africa), fearlessly bringing forth great works done by African women to light.
The hosts of the show described Fakudze to be dynamic African girl magic, policy making woman, African girl luxury and bougie living enthusiast, and passionate public health advocacy frontliner, who hails originally from the Kingdom of Eswatini and currently is the Head of Policy, Advocacy, and Communications at the SADC Elimination 8 Secretariat in Windhoek, Namibia.
SADC Elimination 8 is a coalition of eight countries working across national borders to eliminate malaria in southern Africa by 2030. As the malaria response arm of SADC, the E8 is pioneering an ambitious regional approach and driving collective action to end this deadly disease.
“Phelele immerses us in her journey to being a transformative Girl Boss who is leading the charge against Malaria across Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. She gives us an insight as a prominent public health activist and provides a backdrop on how she has elevated this work across these borders with notable impact.
We also get to know Phelele a bit from her childhood experiences and all the in between stages of her life. And it wouldn’t be ‘A series of Ands’ episode without throwing a little shade and spilling the tea with our home girl Phelele (verbatim),” said the hosts of the show.
During the interview, Fakudze summarised her academic and professional life- stating that she knew she was destined for something great.
“Things in my journey were not straight- but I had extra curriculum activities to keep me going including dog walking and community services and that is how schools approached me for more activities,” said Fakudze in the interview while introducing herself.
