Dr Graham Howarth gained his MB.ChB. degree from the University of Stellenbosch in 1980. After internship and a year as medical officer he returned to Tygerberg, where he completed a DipMid COG (SA) and obtained his MMed (O&G) before working at Livingstone Hospital as a specialist for two and a half years. He then returned to academic medicine in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Kalafong Hospital and the University of Pretoria.
His interest in bioethics and medical law led him to complete an MPhil (Bioethics) through the University of Stellenbosch and he was the initiator and founding head of the Department of Bioethics at the University of Pretoria. Dr Howarth was Associate Professor (ad hominem) in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology before joining Medical Protection in the UK, first as a Medicolegal Adviser and then his current role as Head of Medical Services, Southern Africa.