John Ataguba is an associate professor and the Director of the Health Economics Unit at the University of Cape Town.  He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Cape Town. He has experience in many areas, including policy advisory to governments, technical support to countries,   health economics instruction, health systems, health financing research, and leadership.  He served as the interim South African Research Leader (Chair) in Health and Wealth (2018-2020). With significant work experience in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and South Africa, he is the Deputy Executive Director in charge of capacity development for the African Health Economics and Policy Association (AfHEA) and a member of the Board of Directors for the International Health Economics Association (iHEA). He is also a research fellow for the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) network and was a Mellon Mandela Fellow (20016/17) at Harvard University in the USA.  He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for healthy ageing and longevity.  He received many awards, including the TW Kambule-NSTF Award to emerging researchers in South Africa (described as the ‘Oscar Award’ for science and research in South Africa). He is an advisor for national and international agencies, including the World Health Organization. His research interests include health financing, health inequality, equity in health and health care, social determinants of health, health economics methodology design, and the economics of ageing.  He has published widely in reputable journals.