Ntokozo Zakwe

Ntokozo is an HIV prevention and women’s health rights advocate. She currently works with Community Media Trust (CMT) as the DREAMS Safe Spaces Facilitator. Her passion for advocacy for women’s well-being has been intensified by her personal experiences as a young woman in South Africa who has struggled to stay HIV-negative, withstanding all the challenges and factors that leave women vulnerable to HIV. She has worked for the NGO Health Systems Trust, serving as a District Administrator in their DREAMS program and was chairperson of the UMgungundlovu District AIDS Council Youth Sector.

Fellowship Focus
Ntokozo’s project sought to influence young women’s access to gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, care and support in their communities as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention package in South Africa. She successfully spearheaded the inclusion of PrEP in centers that care for survivors of violence in KwaZulu Natal. She established a coalition of young women warriors who understand and influence GBV and HIV prevention policies and programs and she advocated for a roadmap for comprehensive GBV services and care in HIV prevention research in South Africa.

In Their Own Words
We must advocate and fight for the vulnerable populations and to ensure that the next generation does not go through half of the things we went through and that they won’t have to fight the same battles we’ve had to fight.