WHO Africa director-elect dies while undergoing treatment in India

ARUSHA, Tanzania — The World Health Organization’s regional director-elect for Africa has died while undergoing treatment in India, the speaker of Tanzania’s parliament said on Wednesday.

Plans to repatriate the body of 55-year-old Dr. Faustine Ndugulile from Tanzania are underway, announcer Tulia Ackson said, adding that funeral plans would be announced later. She did not disclose Ndugulile’s illness.

Ndugulile was the Member of Parliament for Kigamboni constituency in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. He was also the East African country’s deputy minister of health from 2017 to 2020 and minister of information and communications until 2021.

He was elected WHO Africa director in August and was scheduled to begin his new role in February 2025, succeeding Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, who served two terms in the role. In his acceptance speech, Ndugulile expressed his strong commitment to improving the health and well-being of the people of Africa.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed condolences on X’s social media platform, calling his death “devastating,” while WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus wrote that he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by his death.

Several Tanzanian lawmakers also posted on X, saying Ndugulile was a “humble man.”

Blessed Lema, a former opposition MP, wrote: “In parliament, Ndugulile was not as strict as his colleagues from the ruling party.”

WHO Regional Directors have a five-year term and can only be reappointed once.