Dimakatso Nonyane (South Africa) leads Capacitation and Capability Training for programmes managed by the Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) Research Unit at the University of Pretoria. She has developed and runs harm reduction workshops nationally and oversees drug and harm reduction training and education for healthcare professionals, community health workers and community-based organisations. Dimakatso is a member of the core team implementing South Africa’s largest harm-reduction program, the Community Oriented Substance Use Program (COSUP) and has worked in clinical, planning, research and training roles since the inception of COSUP in 2016. Dimakatso has studied at UNISA, the University of Pretoria, where she studied Social Work and Psychology, and the University of the Witwatersrand, where she completed her Bachelor of Clinical Medicine. She is currently completing an MSc. In her various roles, Ms Nonyane has seen how misguided policies and a lack of science-informed thinking can negatively impact the lives of marginalised people.
