Ricky Behari matriculated form Estcourt High School with a first class pass in 1967. Having chosen the career of a medical doctor, he began his studies at Natal University and graduated in 1976 after completing an internship at the King Edward Hospital. In the seventies, he served in various medical positions in hospitals in Kwazulu-Natal and in Port Elizabeth.
In 1981, he spent some time doing locum work in the UK and then returned to PE to become a consultant at Livingstone Hospital. Moving on to Cape Town for a while, Dr Behari became the Registrar in the Department of Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital.
He registered as a specialist physician in 1988 and until 1993, headed up the ICU and Respiratory Clinic at Livingstone. Since 1994, he has been a general physician and intensive care specialist in private practice in Port Elizabeth and a consultant to Livingstone Hospital mainly involved in training postgraduates for intensive care, anaesthetics and general surgery.
He has lectured in Bombay, Delhi and Poona in India, is a member of the South African Thoracic Society and Intensive Care Society and regularly attends conferences in these areas of specialisation.
On the 3rd of April this year, Ricky Behari was one of only 60 physicians worldwide and the only South African to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London. He also received special commendation by the President of the College for his work done in ICU, in teaching programmes, in setting up a multi-drug resistant programme and establishing up a bronchoscopy and respiratory clinic service.
For his outstanding contribution to medicine in the Eastern Cape and South Africa, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is honoured to present Dr Ricky Behari with the Council Prestige Award.