UKZN High-Flyer Scoops 2023 Health Excellence Rising Star Award

UKZN High-Flyer Scoops 2023 Health Excellence Rising Star Award

Mr Mohamed Hoosen Suleman, a fifth-year Medical student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) was elated to be announced as the winner of the 2023 South African Health Excellence Rising Star Award by the Health Clinix Group together with the South African Clinician Scientists’ Society.

The announcement was made at the prestigious awards ceremony held at the Emperors Palace in Johannesburg on 25 November 2023.

Leading health experts countrywide were invited to attend the ceremony and the special guest for the event was the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Dr Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma.

Suleman was shortlisted to the top three from a pool of 150 nominees including doctors, senior scientists, and clinicians countrywide, and ultimately, he was announced as the first position. The second runner-up was from the University of Cape Town, and the third runner-up was from the University of Pretoria.

‘I feel absolutely honoured and privileged to be announced as the winner,’ said Suleman. ‘I am truly humbled and I view it as a means that will motivate me to keep contributing to healthcare betterment in whatever way I possibly can.’

The high flyer was recently one of only five Medical students globally to represent their respective countries at the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) meeting in Muscat, Oman. Suleman gave a 90-minute presentation on the importance of ultrasound and related radiological advancements in regard to medical diagnostics. The other Medical students were from Belgium, Switzerland, Nigeria and The Gambia.

Suleman was selected as a delegate for this accolade during his Psychiatry clinical rotation at the Townhill Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. He was granted leave by the School of Clinical Medicine and the Hospital to attend the meeting and completed his examinations on his return.

He continues to fly the South African flag high at international health meetings. Earlier this year, he represented South Africa at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Copenhagen, Denmark and the World Health Assembly held at the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Last year, Suleman received the prestigious WHO Changemaker Scholarship in Geneva, Switzerland which is awarded to only three Medical students globally.

Among other accolades, he was one of the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans in the 17th Edition and serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Medical Students (IJMS).

His presentation to the WFUMB focused on temporal trends in ultrasound utilisation within the public health sector together with its increasing usage at point-of-care ultrasound in emergency medicine.

The congress opened with a keynote address by renowned physician Professor Christoph Frank Dietrich followed by multiple workshops where Suleman interacted and networked with leading specialists in the fields of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cardiology, Radiology, Nephrology, Emergency Medicine, Rheumatology and Gastroenterology.

Suleman is widely known as a dedicated Medical youth activist and is a recipient of multiple local and international awards and accolades in the medical field.

The aspiring Medical doctor has been recognised by the World Health Organization for his efforts in tackling antimicrobial resistance and many other public health threats with a core focus on resource-limited settings like sub-Saharan Africa.

UKZN has presented special awards to Suleman throughout his undergraduate medical career – his colleagues and mentors describe him as a student who truly embodies the University’s core principles and ideals of Inspiring Greatness.

Members of UKZN’s executive, College of Health Sciences leadership, and the Head of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, Dr Sandile Tshabalala, congratulated Suleman and wished him well. 

Senior Advisor within the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health and UKZN Convocation President, Dr Qiniso Mlita, said: ‘Suleman is a young leader with an indomitable will. He is one of our very own and we are well acquainted with his limitless potential to raise the flag and banner of both South Africa and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I personally congratulate him on this and look forward to his feedback to the DoH and UKZN.’

Suleman was also invited to attend the 2023 World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 17 October but had to decline the invitation due to Medical School commitments and clinical rotations in Pietermaritzburg.

Words: Lunga Memela

Photograph: Supplied