“My role is to make sure we create a gender-sensitive parliament and increase women’s representation, ensuring that no one is left behind.”
Prof. Nomafrench Mbombo
In this conversation, Hon. Prof. Nomafrench Mbombo speaks on leadership, governance, healthcare transformation, and women’s empowerment.
Prof. Mbombo, a distinguished academic, politician, and global health advocate, shared her journey, her work within South Africa’s provincial parliament, and her contributions to gender-sensitive governance.
She was also nominated and is a finalist for the PAWES 2025 awards under the Politics and Government sector.
Prof. Nomafrench Mbombo’s Introduction & Background
Hon. Prof. Nomafrench Mbombo
My name is Nomafrench Mbombo. I am currently a member of the provincial parliament in the Western Cape in South Africa. This is my third term. In my second term, I was a provincial minister of health until 2024.
Previously, I was an associate professor at the University of the Western Cape, and I still hold the honorary professor title because I continue teaching.
Now, although I’m no longer a minister, as a member of parliament my role includes chairing multi-party unions, representing the parliament in the Commonwealth Africa region—including Nigeria—and working to ensure gender-sensitive parliamentary structures and increased women’s representation.
I also work to fight against exploitative practices. As a member of parliament, I sit on several committees: the economic cluster, mobility, transport, and agriculture.
I am a health professional by training and still teach at three universities in South Africa:
• University of Stellenbosch – Climate Change and Advocacy for Health Professionals
• University of the Western Cape – Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
• University of Cape Town – Patron for Global Surgery Activity Leadership
I also work globally—UNITE network for parliamentarians in global health—focusing on mental health for parliamentarians, preparing women and young girls to join parliament, and developing policies responsive to community needs.
On Her Health Leadership Journey
Hon. Prof. Nomafrench Mbombo
For ten years until 2024, as provincial minister of health, I transformed the health department from hospital-centric to community-based and person-centered. Most poor people never reach advanced medical services—they die before reaching hospitals. My focus was prevention, promotion of health, and community involvement.
I introduced violence prevention units—the first in South Africa and likely in developing countries. We use innovation and technology, such as robotic surgeries in public hospitals, and developed a unique patient identifier system to track patients across clinics.
During COVID, we created dashboards to track cases, including undocumented people, foreign nationals, and the homeless. We were among the first to vaccinate people without South African IDs.
Her Story: Rising from Adversity
I grew up in the Eastern Cape in poverty under apartheid. After matric, I had no money. I worked as a domestic worker, even though I was a top student. I was fired many times. The last time, my employer found me wearing her clothes, told me, “You don’t belong here,” and fired me. That moment made me realize I truly didn’t belong in that space.
Luckily, a nursing degree programme had just started at one university, and they admitted me. The rest is history. I worked in three provinces as a clinician and health systems manager, became a professor, and eventually entered politics.
Why She Joined Politics
During my academic career, I worked across Africa on community activism, human rights, and consultancy with the United Nations. My focus was always on the right to health for communities left behind. That shaped my political path.
Every five years, elections happen. I was even in Nigeria two or three weeks ago on my way from a conference in Gambia. Most parliaments across Africa are male-dominated.
How do we open political spaces for women? Patriarchy and societal norms restrict women. I developed leadership models and conducted workshops across Africa to promote gender-sensitive parliaments. Women in leadership influence teenage pregnancy, girls staying in school, and overall community wellbeing.I advocate globally in digital health, climate change, and sexual and reproductive rights — pushing WHO and the UN to include these priorities.
Advocacy, Gender Policy & Global Work
I work on gender-responsive budgeting, ensuring governments incorporate gender needs into financial planning. I also focus on access to climate funding, blended financing for women, infrastructure development, and tackling high tariffs that affect Africa’s access to contraceptives and essential health supplies.
I recently participated in the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum in Cape Town, discussing funding, decision-making spaces, and how women can enter global “big boys’ clubs.”
As a former executive, academic, and current parliamentarian, I use these three pillars to help women tap into international opportunities such as AGOA, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, and blended financing initiatives.
