Nationality Tanzanian Name Mwele Malecela Religion Christian | Political party CCM Years active 1987-present | |
Occupation Director General of NIMR | ||
Mwele Ntuli Malecela (born March 26, 1963) was the Director General of the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and the Tanzania Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program. She is currently running to be the elected candidate for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in the upcoming October 2015 elections.
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Early life and career
Following her graduating in Zoology at the University of Dar es Salaam, she joined the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in 1987, where she worked at the Amani Center to conduct research on Lymphatic Filariasis. Following this, she continued her education at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 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 and then moved on to become the Director of the Lymphatic Filariasis program in 2000, which is now functional in 53 districts (13 million people). She was appointed Director General of NIMR in 2010, and is the first woman to hold this position. In June 2015, she went on sabbatical to pursue her political aspirations.
Political career
Malecela joined Tanzania's ruling party, 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.