Sindisiwe van Zyl (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Mahamba-Sithole; 3 April 1976 – 10 April 2021) was a

Zimbabwean Demographic features of the population of Zimbabwe include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population The population of Zimbabwe ...

-born

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

radio DJ A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

, health activist and

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

er known for using

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and

mainstream media In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large Mass media, mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Noam Chomsky, Choms ...

to share

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

-related,

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

reproductive health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's Human reproductive system, reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Se ...

, other medical and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

information. She won several awards for her work. Because of her extensive public health advocacy, she was known as "the people's doctor".

Early life and education

Van Zyl was born on 3 April 1976 in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

(now

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

). For secondary education she attended Arundel School. For tertiary education she attended the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

, where she obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in human physiology and psychology and a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

degree. Dr Sindisiwe Van Zyl interned at

Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (colloquially known as Bara) is a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the largest hospital in Africa and seventh largest hospital in the world. It has 6,760 staff members, 3,400 beds and occup ...

. In 2004, she married Marinus van Zyl.

Career

She used

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, mainly, to inform and engage about

particularly prevention of mother-to-child transmission. She also appeared frequently on TV, radio and other media platforms. She shared about her personal journey with depression and

physician burnout Physician burnout has been classified as a psychological syndrome that can be expressed as a prolonged response to due chronic occupational stressors. In the practice of medicine, it has been known to affect a wide variety of individuals from medic ...

. Dr. van Zyl chronicled how she lost 41 kg while on a Banting diet. She was a natural short sleeper requiring about 4 hours of

sleep Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain Sensory nervous system, sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with th ...

per night while functioning normally. Her

scientific Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

research has included guidelines to support HIV-affected individuals and couples to achieve pregnancy safely and

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and HIV co-infection. She held various roles in the

South African Medical Association The South African Medical Association (SAMA) is a non-statutory, professional association for public- and private-sector medical practitioners in South Africa. Registered as a nonprofit organization, it acts as a trade union for its public-sect ...

. She was a member of

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

Southern Africa's Board of directors. Because of her extensive public health advocacy, she was known as "the people's doctor". Her media affiliations included: * Columnist for Health24, ''Bona'' magazine'', Choma'' magazine * Radio DJ,

Kaya FM Kaya 959, formerly known as Kaya FM 95.9, is a commercial radio station that broadcasts from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Current On-Air Lineup History Kaya 959 was launched in August 1997, and was one of the first frequencies to be app ...

hosting Sidebar with Sindi * Guest artist in the soap opera ''

7de Laan ''7de Laan'' is a South African Afrikaans soap opera created by Danie Odendaal and produced by Danie Odendaal Productions. The series focuses on the lives of residents in and around the community of 7de Laan (7th Avenue), in the suburb of Hill ...

Death

On 10 April 2021, she died at the age of 45 from

. Her funeral was on 15 April 2021. Memorials of Dr Sindi included people posting themselves on social media wearing dresses with pockets, which was her signature style.

Awards and honors

* ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, loca ...

'' (2012) 200 Young South Africans * ''Glamour'' Women of the Year (2018) - awarded for excellence and activism in health and medicine *

Amref Health Africa Amref Health Africa is a Kenyan-based non-governmental organization focused on providing community and environmental healthcare to countries in Africa. It is considered one of the most prominent health NGOs in Africa. History Originally known ...

posthumous Africa Health Agenda International Conference 2023 Women in Global Health Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Zyl, Sindisiwe 1976 births 2021 deaths 21st-century South African physicians 21st-century women physicians Alumni of Arundel School Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa People from Harare South African columnists South African radio presenters South African women columnists South African women radio presenters South African women physicians University of Pretoria alumni Zimbabwean emigrants to South Africa 21st-century South African journalists 20th-century South African women journalists 21st-century South African women journalists