Mwele Ntuli Malecela (26 March 1963 – 10 February 2022) was a

Tanzanian Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

civil servant who was a senior

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

official and the director of the Department of Control of

Neglected Tropical Diseases Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical disease, tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in Developing country, developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety ...

at the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

Headquarters in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Early life

Her father,

John Malecela John Samuel Malecela (born 19 April 1934 in Bugiri Dodoma) was Prime Minister of Tanzania from November 1990 to December 1994. He served as the vice-chairman of the CCM from 1995 to 2007, and a member of the CCM Central Committee to date. Pri ...

, held several senior political positions in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, including those of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

and First Vice-President,

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Nati ...

and High Commissioner to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Scientific and international career

Following her graduating in Zoology at the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in 1 ...

, she joined Tanzania's National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in 1987, where she worked at the Amani Center to conduct research on

lymphatic filariasis Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Usually acquired in childhood, it is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide. While most cases have no symptoms, some people develop a syndrome ...

. Following this, she continued her education at the

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

, where she completed her MSc (1990) and PhD (1995). She continued her research at NIMR thereafter, and became Director of Research Coordination and Promotion (DRCP) in 1998 before moving on to become the Director of the

Lymphatic Filariasis Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Usually acquired in childhood, it is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide. While most cases have no symptoms, some people develop a syndrome ...

program in 2000, which is now functional in 53 districts (population: 13 million people). In 2010 she was appointed NIMR's Director General, and was the first woman to hold this position. In June 2015, she went on sabbatical to pursue her political aspirations. In 2017, she joined WHO’s Regional Office for Africa in April 2017 as the Director in the Office of the Regional Director (RD) responsible for providing policy, managerial and diplomatic advice to the RD, coordinating and facilitating the plan of work for all units under the RD's Office Cluster, and monitoring the implementation of policy decisions of

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

governing bodies. She also provided support to the RD on strategic directions of WHO’s work in the region. In October 2018 the Director General of

, Dr

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ( ti, ቴዎድሮስ አድሓኖም ገብረኢየሱስ, sometimes spelt ti, ቴድሮስ ኣድሓኖም ገብረየሱስ, label=none; born 3 March 1965) is an Ethiopian public health official, researcher, and ...

, appointed her Director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, based at the Organization's headquarters in

Political career

Malecela joined Tanzania's ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), in 1981 when she was at KilaKala. At the time, party membership required an entrance course, which Dr. Malecela attended in April, after which she became full member. She ran for election in the CCM presidential primaries, which took place in July 2015 to determine CCM's nominee for the Presidency of Tanzania.

Personal life and death

Malecela died from cancer on 10 February 2022, at the age of 58.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malecela, Mwele Ntuli 1963 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Tanzanian women politicians 21st-century Tanzanian women politicians Chama Cha Mapinduzi politicians People from Dar es Salaam Tanzanian Christians Tanzanian scientists University of Dar es Salaam alumni Weruweru Secondary School alumni Tanzanian physicians Tanzanian women physicians