Former NIMR director scoops prize for efforts to control neglected diseases

What you need to know:

  • Dr Mwele, who is currently the director in the office of the regional director of World Health Organisation-Africa, has been awarded alongside another prize winner, Prof David Molyneux, from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM).

Former director general of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Dr Mwele Malecela, has been awarded the 2017 Kyelem Prize in recognition of her efforts in controlling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Dr Mwele, who is currently the director in the office of the regional director of World Health Organisation-Africa, has been awarded alongside another prize winner, Prof David Molyneux, from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM).

The two experts, Dr Malecela and Prof Molyneux, have played a key role in combating NTDs. 

The prize was presented to the duo at a meeting organised by the Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs on November 3-4 in Baltimore, Maryland, in the US.

The Kyelem Prize is named after the late Dr Dominique Kyelem, a medical doctor from Burkina Faso, who worked tirelessly in combating the NTDs. Dr Kyelem worked at the WHO before he died of cancer.

During the awarding event, Dr Malecela, however, was not present. Dr Upendo John Mwingira, the NTD programme manager at the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children received it on her behalf.

In a text message to The Citizen, Dr Mwingira confirmed that indeed, Dr Malecela was awarded for her outstanding efforts in curbing NTDs.

“She frankly deserves it,’’ she noted in a text as she congratulated Dr Mwingira.

Earlier on her tweet, Dr Malecela expressed her delight.  “[It’s]…a real honour to have @upendo_john receive the award on my behalf! Thanks @tzntdcp "I am because you are" It’s our collective success!”

Dr Malecela has worked for a Tanzania lymphatic filariasis elimination programme and she was the first woman to head NIMR since 2010.

Last year, this prize went to Dr Vasanthapuram Kumaraswami, former director-in-charge of two centres of the Indian Council for Medical Research.

Prof Molyneux, who won the prize jointly with Dr Malecela, previously worked collaboratively with NIMR in Tanzania in the control of lymphatic filariasis.

Prof Molyneux spoke of his efforts in curbing NTDs in Tanzania during an interview with to The Citizen’s health reporter Syriacus Buguzi on the sidelines of this year’s NTD summit in Geneva. Follow the link below.

Read: World experts meet to chart strategies to eliminate NTDs- VIDEO