EDCTP mourns the passing of Dr Mwele Ntuli Malecela
Dr Mwele Ntuli Malecela and Prof Moses Bockarie (EDCTP) prepare the signing of the MoU between EDCTP and WHO-AFRO
EDCTP joins the global health community in mourning the passing of a leading scientist and a champion of capacity building for health research in Africa. She was a leader among leaders. Dr Malecela recognised the true value of partnership, to which she dedicated her relentless commitment. She was a role model for global health research and for a new generation of African scientists who built their careers and had a measurable impact on the African continent.
Dr Malecela shared her leadership and inspiration through her many engagements with EDCTP in different roles: as Director General of National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Director in the Office of the WHO Regional Director for Africa (WHO-Africa), and since 2018 as the Director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), at WHO, Geneva. She played a key role in EDCTP’s Fifth EDCTP Forum in Tanzania in 2009 and she was a speaker at the Eighth EDCTP Forum in Lusaka, Zambia in 2016. She also facilitated the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between EDCTP and WHO-AFRO during her tenure at WHO-AFRO in Brazzaville, Congo.
Dr Mwele Ntuli Malecela was very committed to women in science, global health and diseases that disproportionately affect the poor and neglected populations. Her passing is a heavy loss to the global scientific community, especially in Africa. There would be no greater tribute to such an inspiring leader than to continue strengthening capacity building for global health in Africa.