WHO Africa director-elect dies while receiving treatment in India

ARUSHA, Tanzania (AP) — The World Health Organization’s regional director-elect for Africa died while receiving medical treatment in India, Tanzania’s parliament speaker said Wednesday.

Plans to repatriate the body of Tanzania’s Dr. Faustine Ndugulile, 55, were underway, Speaker Tulia Ackson said, adding that funeral plans would be announced later. She didn’t disclose Ndugulile’s ailment.

Ndugulile served as a member of parliament for Kigamboni Constituency in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. He was also the East African country’s health assistant minister between 2017-2020 and the information and communication minister until 2021.

He was elected as the WHO’s African director in August and was set to start his new role in February 2025, following Dr. Matshidiso Moeti who served in the role for two terms. In his acceptance speech, Ndugulile expressed a firm commitment to advancing the health and well-being of people in Africa.

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

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

Godbless Lema, a former opposition legislator, wrote: “When in parliament, Ndugulile wasn’t as harsh as his colleagues in the ruling party.”

WHO regional directors have a five-year term and are eligible for reappointment only once.