Mr Zwelethu (Zweli) Bashman currently serves as the Managing Director of MSD South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa. He joined MSD on 1 January 2020 as Director HIV & Vaccines. Successes during his tenure as HIV & Vaccines Director included the signing of voluntary license agreements with low cost manufacturing partners to allow the marketing of generic versions of MSD’s HIV medication, expanding access to treatment for people living with HIV and Aids in Africa. Prior to joining MSD, Zwelethu held various roles within the pharmaceuticals sector. He started his career in the industry at Schering-Plough in 2006, where he worked in sales and product management. His commercial experience grew at Adcock Ingram, where he led several commercial operations including HIV, Cardiovascular/CNS/Dermatology as well as Hospital Fluids. Between 2017 and 2019, Zwelethu expanded his responsibilities and relocated to East Africa where he led the key account operations for Cipla Pharmaceuticals across Sub-Saharan Africa. Thereafter he joined Merck Biopharma as Head of Marketing for all English & Portuguese speaking African countries. In his role as MD Zwelethu will continue to drive MSD’s Africa strategy, which has seen the company invested heavily in finding scientific solutions to the world’s most challenging diseases. He will continue driving MSD’s strategic objective of broadening patient access to innovative medicines as well as contribute to increasing vaccine coverage rates across the continent.