The Friends of the Global Fund, Japan (FGFJ) and Asahi GLOBE+ are pleased to introduce Dr. Zolelwa Sifumba, a young physician from South Africa, in the second installment of our interview series, “Infectious Diseases Without Borders–Our Story.” She was chosen to run as a member of the Global Fund’s torch relay team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed due to the pandemic. Sifumba contracted multidrug-resistant tuberculosis when she was a medical student and survived a grueling treatment that lasted 18 months. Five years later, she fell ill with COVID-19 while working on the pandemic frontlines. Now, Sifumba considers herself a better doctor for being able to understand what it is to be a patient, and her personal experiences have made her even more determined to raise awareness about tuberculosis and the fact that we are all susceptible to this disease because “we all breathe.” It has also inspired her to highlight the plight of health professionals who are fighting off myriad risks with minimal support on a daily basis. We are pleased to be able to share the story of her indomitable spirit and her message to all of us living in the COVID age.

Continue reading on the FGFJ website.

To learn more about “Infectious Diseases Without Borders–Our Story,” please visit the series page.