Ivan Peter Toms (11 July 1952 – 25 March 2008) was a South African physician, who battled the Apartheid era government as a prominent anti-Apartheid and anti-conscription activist.

[3] Toms was drafted into the national service in the South African Defence Force (SADF), as a non-combatant doctor in 1978.

[5] In September 1983, Toms witnessed a three-week-long confrontation between the Crossroads community and the South African police and security forces, who were trying to tear down "illegal" buildings in the settlement.

[6] As part of the "Fast for a Just Peace" campaign,[3] Toms went on a three-week-long hunger strike in February 1985 to protest the government's decision to bulldoze the Crossroads shanty town.

[5] The following year, in July 1987, Toms defied the SADF when he refused to join a conscription camp for one month of compulsory service.

[2] Toms, as the national co-ordinator, began to implement a series of programs to combat the spread of AIDS and HIV in the country.

[3] His name is remembered in the Ivan Toms Centre for Men's Health in Greenpoint, Cape Town, which works in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.

[1][2][5] He was honored by prominent South African political figures, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and the Mayor of Cape Town, Helen Zille.

"[9] His funeral, which was attended by hundreds of people including Archbishop Tutu, was held at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.