[4] Susser, Stein and colleagues began their careers at a clinic in Alexandra Township,[5] where they developed ties with members of the anti-Apartheid Movement including Joe Slovo, Ahmed Kathrada, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela.
[2] While there the couple published a paper on the epidemiology of peptic ulcers[7] and Susser coauthored an early textbook on Medical Sociology,[8] among other contributions.
[2] They helped to organise a conference in Maputo in April 1990, which aimed to alert the African National Congress about the HIV epidemic in South Africa,[2][15] sadly with limited effect.
Susser, Stein and colleagues, worked on building scientific capacity in Southern Africa to deal with the HIV epidemic[15] and Susser and Stein served as early directors at the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, a research centre in Northern KwaZulu-Natal.
He worked alongside Dr. Salim (Slim) Abdool Karim to submit the first successful application to Fogarty in 1993 which sought to build strategic, sustainable scientific capacity to enhance the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland.