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Munya Chimanye-Features Writer
Zimbabwean-born Dr Matifadza Hlatshwayo-Davis (39), was on October 20, 2021 sworn in as the health director for the city of St Louis, Missouri in the United States of America.
Taking over from commissioner of health, Dr Fredrick Echols, who had previously occupied the role in an acting capacity, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis becomes the first black female physician to hold the role for St Louis.
The St Louis county government has found itself greatly affected financially by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the local government has planned to commit federal stimulus to aid in the wake of overwhelming deficits towards public health and safety—leading to disquiet over the pandemic—the need for action was a necessity.
Amidst these concerns, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis, a specialist physician in the field of infectious diseases, has been able to step up to the challenge.
Speaking to The Herald from the US, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis said she left Zimbabwe in 2001 after completing her A Level studies at Arundel School in Harare.
During her time at Arundel, she was just like any other pupil at the school then and now; heartily competing on the hockey field and achieving academically. After notching 10 As and two Bs at Ordinary Level, she still remembers the trepidation she felt, waiting in line to meet with Arundel’s headmistress to decide on what path she would take in life. At the time, and to this day, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis, reckoned herself a writer, having earned commendation for her prose at the National Allied Arts.
However, her decision to pursue the sciences was to be ultimately influenced by her early life experiences. These included the pressure to pursue what our culture dictates “smart kids” should seek, the sciences; and the death of her father, Gaylord Themba Hlatshwayo, in a foreign country when she was 15.
She also wished that the medical staff at the hospital in Rome, where he had passed on, cared for him in his last hours.
The stigmatisation and lethality associated with HIV and AIDS, which she witnessed in Zimbabwe in her youth, also made her pursue medicine.
“At its peak, HIV wiped out an entire working generation in Zimbabwe, evidenced through all the children who, as a cause, were raised by their grandparents,” said Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis.
This decision would be the formative step in the making of a dedicated career.
Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis would proceed to Drury University in Springfield, Missouri for her undergraduate studies, complemented by a full Trustee Scholarship that afforded her the luxury of being able to pursue her passion without worrying about the cost of tuition.
After completing her undergraduate degree, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis would go on to acquire a medical degree from Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and a Master’s in Public Health from Case Western Reserve University, shortly after. She completed her residency at University Hospitals Case Medical Centre.
From then onwards, the good doctor would turn her attention towards infectious diseases, specifically HIV and AIDS and sexually transmitted infections. She did a fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine, and other fellowships in HIV and STIs for a year and two years, respectively.
As part of her fellowship experience, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis would often take part in community outreach geared mainly towards educating populations of colour, informing them about STIs and other communicable diseases, in public hubs like barbershops and day-care centres.
With her wealth of expertise, it had always been Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis’ intention to return to Zimbabwe to apply her knowledge.
She said: “The plan was always to come home, but they say when we make plans, God laughs.”
During her years of scholarship, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis married Michigan-native, Dr Jesse Davis, a neonatal hospitalist, in September 2015. The couple have two children, Aneni and Naniso.
Aneni means God is with me. Naniso, her miracle baby, was born in the Covid-19 era.
Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis gave a commentary on how the emergence of new deadly infectious diseases has coincided with major events in her life.
When she was in the first year of her fellowship at Washington University, the Ebola virus was running amok in West Africa. And when she was pregnant with her first child, the Zika virus was a concern to pregnant women around the world. She added that her obstetrician would query her on the virus during check-ups. During her second pregnancy, the new coronavirus virus was spreading across the globe in a fell swoop.
“What makes being an infectious diseasist so amazing is that as a physician you have to understand the entire body to do your job,” she said. “The path I have had to create my career is not one you often see among medical academics.”
Through her efforts in marginalised black and brown communities in St Louis, Missouri’s major city, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis became the co-chair for Fast Track Cities initiative, which provides care and aid to those suffering from diseases like HIV/AIDS and Covid-19.
As a trusted messenger on appropriate medical practices around HIV/AIDS, STIs and other infectious diseases, she became a medical contributor for local and international media outlets like MSNBC, CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera; a large part of which was during the pandemic.
Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis recognises the opportunities the coronavirus, which she is working to abate, presented to her. Eventually, she was approached by community leaders in St Louis, who wished to back her for the position of health director. She accepted the invitation for a position to which she proved to be most well-suited.
In her role as St Louis’ health director, Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis will primarily focus on Covid-19.
However, she is also committed to ending gun violence in the city, as well as providing support and education to constituents about STIs. She also intends to focus on mental and behavioural health.
“I believe that mental illness is still stigmatised; and for so many people, it negatively impacts on their quality of life,” said Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis.
In the two months since September, when St Louis Mayor, Tishaura O Jones, announced that Dr Hlatshwayo-Davis would assume the role of health director, the specialist doctor hardly had time to come to terms with her status as a role model for young girls and aspiring physicians the world over. However, as a takeaway, she made sure to impart one crucial fact of her life.
She said: “The thing I am most passionate about is being a mother.”
Online Reporter