Hon. Dr. D. P. Parirenyatwa

Areas of Expertise

Biography

Hon. Dr. D. P. Parirenyatwa qualified as a medical doctor from the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Nigeria. He has wide experience working in both the Private and Public Health Sectors. Parirenyatwa served as Deputy Minister of Health & Child Welfare (4yrs) and then as Minister of Health (12 yrs.), in Zimbabwe, where he championed the fight against HIV & Aids. Parirenyatwa hails from a medical family. His father the late Dr Tichafa Samuel Parirenyatwa was the first African (black) doctor in then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). The largest referral hospital in Zimbabwe was named after the late doctor. One of Parirenyatwa’s sons is also a doctor. Parirenyatwa has chaired the African Union Health Ministers and also the SADC Ministers of Health. He is a past President of the World Health Assembly, the governing body of the WHO. He chaired the UNAIDS board and co-Chaired ICASA 2015 in Zimbabwe. Parirenyatwa is a Fellow of the College of Primary Care Physicians (Zimbabwe). He promotes Continuing Medical Education and Medical Research including Traditional Medicine and is the past chairman of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Zimbabwe. He specializes in Health Policies and Health Strategies and is the Executive Director of Chest Medical. Parirenyatwa is the immediate past Vice President of the 6th SAA Executive Board. He is a Senator in the Parliament of Zimbabwe.