Public Health, Social Justice and Feminist Governance- Visioning the Next 25 Years: A farewell tribute to the work of Professor Olive Shisana

If Shakespeare were writing Marc Antony's famous eulogy from Julius Caesar today and in a South African context, he would probably have said, “The good that South Africa and South Africans do Is oft interred with their bones.”

- Zilyanda Ngoma, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

These adapted words from Shakespeare, shared by Professor Olive Shisana during her farewell tribute, reverberated across the room at the M&G Critical Thinking Forum on 9 May 2025—marking the end of a distinguished chapter in public service, but not the end of her mission.

Professor Shisana, renowned for her fearless feminist leadership and scientific rigor, closed her formal role as Special Adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa with characteristic humility and purpose. “Today is a deeply emotional occasion for me—emotion is not a word often associated with scientists!” she quipped, striking a delicate balance between heartfelt reflection and resolute optimism,

For over three decades, Professor Shisana has stood at the helm of South Africa's transformation efforts—shaping public health policy, advancing gender justice, and anchoring evidence-based governance. In her six-and-a-half-year tenure within the Presidency, she served not only as a technical adviser but as a moral compass on issues affecting the nation’s most vulnerable.

“Being Special Adviser to the President was not merely a role—it was a calling,” she said. “Together, we navigated some of the most complex challenges of our democratic dispensation.”

Transforming the Gender Landscape

Her legacy is perhaps most visible in the national response to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), elevating it to a national issue. From galvanizing the Women's March to the Union Buildings in 2018 to steering the development of the Ten-Year National Strategic Plan on GBVF, Professor Shisana helped elevate gender justice to a national priority.

“We fought for the rights of girls and boys, and even men, recognising GBV asa societal crisis that demands collective action,”