As physicians, we are tasked with addressing the downstream effects of dangerous trends in society, such as the use of tobacco or the worsening quality of our air. One physician pushing back against this status quo is Heather Zar, M.D., Ph.D., a doctor on the faculty at the Red Cross Children s Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, who through innovative research is bridging not only the wide gap between public policy and the role of doctors but also the gaps between rich and poor and between developed and developing countries.
The Drakenstein Child Health Study, which began in 2012, is Zar s latest and most ambitious undertaking and aims to shine a bright spotlight on what pollution is doing not only to our lungs but to our brains, to our immune systems, and even to the bacteria that colonize us.
First published by GroundUp
“We call on the Department of Health to act urgently, transparently and decisively now to obtain vaccines and to implement vaccination, so as to reduce death and illness, and bring the pandemic under control.” So reads a letter started by Professor Heather Zar, a leading public sector paediatrician at Cape Town’s Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
Over 2,500 people had signed the petition by the time of publication of this article. Many are well-known doctors, nurses and researchers, including Professor Francois Venter, former head of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, Professor Ntobeko Ntusi, Head of the Department of Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital, Professor Lucille Blumberg of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases and Professor Helen McShane of Oxford University.