The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) celebrates and congratulates Dr Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, Chief Specialist Scientist in the SAMRC’s Health Systems Research Unit, for her appointment to the newly established Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts launched by the G20 Presidency of South Africa.
Commissioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa and chaired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz, the Committee will deliver the first-ever report on global inequality to G20 leaders.
Dr Zembe-Mkabile is a recognised researcher whose work over the past decade has advanced critical knowledge on poverty, health, and inequality in South Africa and beyond.
Her studies on the Child Support Grant influenced national debates on social protection and income support, demonstrating the role of grants in reducing childhood poverty and improving health outcomes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she investigated the unequal health and economic impacts of the crisis, highlighting how the pandemic deepened existing vulnerabilities among poor households. In addition, her maternal and child health research has shown how poverty and social exclusion shape early childhood nutrition, access to healthcare, and long-term well-being. Together, this body of work has cemented her standing as a thought leader on the structural drivers of inequality in low- and middle-income countries.
Dr Zembe-Mkabile joins an illustrious panel of six independent experts: Professor Stiglitz (USA), Dr Adriana E. Abdenur (Brazil), Ms Winnie Byanyima (Uganda), Professor Jayati Ghosh (India), and Professor Imraan Valodia (South Africa).
The G20 “Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Wealth Inequality” is a special project located in the G20 Sherpa’s Office, in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) of South Africa.