The World Health Organization’s regional director-elect for Africa, Dr. Faustine Ndugulile of Tanzania, has died while receiving medical treatment in India, Tanzania’s parliament speaker confirmed Wednesday.
Tulia Ackson, the speaker of Tanzania’s parliament, said plans were underway to repatriate Ndugulile’s body. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time. She did not disclose the nature of his illness.
Ndugulile, 55, was a member of parliament for Kigamboni Constituency in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital. He served as the country’s assistant health minister from 2017 to 2020 and as information and communication minister until 2021.
In August, Ndugulile was elected to become the WHO’s regional director for Africa, a position he was set to assume in February 2025, following Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, who had completed two terms. In his acceptance speech, Ndugulile pledged to advance the health and well-being of people across the African continent.
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her condolences on social media, calling Ndugulile’s death “devastating.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also mourned the loss, saying he was “shocked and deeply saddened.”
Several Tanzanian lawmakers shared tributes on social media, remembering Ndugulile as a “humble man.” Former opposition legislator Godbless Lema noted that Ndugulile was “not as harsh as his colleagues in the ruling party” during his time in parliament.
WHO regional directors serve five-year terms and are eligible for reappointment once.
