First Lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe, the spouse of President Cyril Ramaphosa, will from today kick off her official visit to the United States, where she will undertake various public engagements.
The visit comes ahead of President Ramaphosa leading a South African delegation to the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from 18 September to 1 October.
Dr Motsepe's visit will commence at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, her alma mater, where she will deliver an address at the Open Summit on Early Childhood Health and Development in South Africa.
The First Lady will then engage in a discussion with a group of students and faculty from the Department of Global Health and Population.
She will kick off the second leg of her visit by attending the unveiling of the Nelson Mandela statue at the United Nations headquarters.
Dr Motsepe, a qualified medical doctor, holds a Master of Public Health in maternal child health and aging from the Harvard School of Public Health. She obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and has completed a Social Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).
Dr Motsepe has worked in private practice and in public hospitals in South Africa and Zimbabwe, having operated at the Chris Hani Baragwaneth Hospital and Parirenyatwa Hospital, both the biggest, respectively.
Additionally, she has also worked with the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a leading African research institute focusing on sexual, reproductive health and HIV research. She has also served as chairperson of the Gauteng Health Department’s Accreditation Committee.
Dr Motsepe is currently the chairperson of African Self Help Trust (ASHA), a non-profit organisation that provides early childhood development support programmes for home based crèches in disadvantaged communities. – SAnews.gov.za
