Sibongile Walaza is a medical doctor with MSc in Epidemiology and biostatistics and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Her experience in public health and infectious diseases spans over 20 years. currently She is employed as the section head of the epidemiology team for the Centre for Respiratory Disease and Meningitis (CRDM) at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa.

In this position, she is responsible for overseeing the implementation of surveillance and research programmes and for co-ordinating/managing/ training the teams conducting surveillance/research and responding to outbreaks that involve pathogens that cause respiratory diseases and meningitis.

Dr Walaza is the principal investigator for the pneumonia surveillance and influenza-like illness (ILI) surveillance programmes. She has a joint appointment as a senior lecturer at the School of Public Health,
University of the Witwatersand and has co-supervised a number of Msc students in the field of epidemiology.

She has published over 125 peer-reviewed articles in the field of influenza and other respiratory illnesses. She has contributed to the development of guidelines for prevention and management of influenza in South Africa and is a member of several committees and working groups for National Department of Health and WHO.