Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness: Head of Department
Dr Keith Cloete
About Keith
Our Head of Department (HOD), Dr Keith Cloete, has been in the position since April 2020, and was born in District Six, Cape Town.
His qualifications include a MBChB degree from the University of Cape Town in 1988, a Postgraduate Diploma in Child Health (SA), the Oliver Tambo Fellowship and a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Management (with distinction), with a number of short courses.
Keith also served the Department in other positions over the past 26 years. He has worked as a medical officer at various health facilities in Western Cape from 1989 to 1996, and as a Chief Medical Officer in Public Health Programmes in the Cape Metro Region from 1996 to 2003. In 2003 he was appointed to the position of Director: HIV/ AIDS/STI and TB, and was later appointed as Chief Director for Metro District Health Services in 2007. Before his current position as HOD, Keith served as Deputy Director-General: Chief of Operations for Western Cape Government Health, he was appointed to that role on 1 March 2015.
Keith is a founding member of Western Cape Reference Group for Health Promoting Schools, and involved in numerous inter-sectorial initiatives which address a wide range of issues affecting the health of communities in the Cape Metropole, including hygiene and sanitation projects in various informal settlement communities.
Since 2017, he has been closely involved with the Whole of Society Approach on behalf of the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, a multi-sectoral approach across the Provincial Departments for collaborative action across all spheres of government and sectors, guided by a shared purpose to impact meaningfully on the lives of citizens. Keith has been involved in a range of leadership interventions toward a more resilient and people-centred Department, as part of a collective learning journey.
Keith is a husband and father and considers his family to be among his greatest motivators along his journey to accomplishing his personal goals.