Biography

Prof. Rehle has a Medical Degree (MD) from the Ludwig Maximillian’s University of Munich, an MSc degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Antwerp. He holds an appointment as a Honorary Professor of International Health at the University of Cape Town, School of Public Health and Family Medicine. Prof. Rehle has over 25 years of expertise in global public health and disease control interventions. His leadership in HIV/AIDS programming resulted in the inception and implementation of many country programs worldwide. From 1987 to 1993, Prof. Rehle was directing the German Support Program on AIDS for Developing Countries implemented by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). During his tenure with Family Health International (1996-2001), he was responsible for the design and implementation of the overall evaluation strategy of two global AIDS Control and Prevention Projects (AIDSCAP and IMPACT) which represented the flagship implementation projects for USAID’s response to the global AIDS pandemic with annual budgets of $50 to $70 million. He was leading a team that pioneered the development of innovative evaluation tools and data collection methods that became part of technical UNAIDS/WHO guidelines for Second Generation HIV Surveillance and M&E of national HIV / AIDS prevention and care programs. He was the lead editor and author of the reference guide on “Evaluating Programs for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care in Developing Countries: A Handbook for Program Managers and Decision Makers” (Family Health International, 2001). From 2005 to 2016, Prof. Rehle served at the South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) as a Director and Senior Program Advisor to provide strategic directions and guidance for the research portfolios of Population Health and HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB and contribute to high-level planning and decision-making on policy, program development, management and operations. He established the Epidemiology, Strategic Research and Health Policy program and served as a Principal Investigator of the national HIV household surveys in 2005, 2008 and 2012 which have significantly transformed the understanding of and response to the HIV epidemic in South Africa. He was also a PI of the first South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES 2012). As a faculty at the University of Cape Town since 2004, Prof. Rehle provides clinical and didactic teaching in Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the Masters course in Public Health (MPH). Prof. Rehle served in many international scientific committees and advisory boards. He is a member of the UNAIDS Reference Group on Estimates, Modeling and Projections and serves on the Steering Committee of the WHO Working Group on HIV Incidence Assays. Prof. Rehle is a Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. His publication record spans the authoring and co-authoring of more than 200 publications and presentations in scientific journals, books and international conferences.

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Research Interest

Global public health and disease control interventions. His leadership in HIV/AIDS programming resulted in the inception and implementation of many country programs worldwide.