Dr. Honorati Masanja is the IHI sitting Chief Executive Director. His professional background is statistics and epidemiology. He holds a PhD in Epidemiology and has extensive experience in data management, clinical trials, design, and evaluation of large maternal and child health programs.

Dr. Masanja joined the Institute in 1992. He obtained his PhD in Epidemiology from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel in 2006. Over the last 25 years, he has led the successful acquisition and implementation of national and regional projects whose direct impact on strengthening Tanzania’s health system is still seen today.

Having participated in the establishment of the Rufiji Health and Demographic Surveillance System (RHDSS), Dr. Masanja became the Principal Investigator for the SAVVY project from 2009-2014, a step in Tanzania’s shift towards evidence-based planning and enabling health-sector evaluation.

Dr. Masanja’s scientific engagement spans across borders. Having published extensively in international journals and books, he is also an editorial reviewer for the MRC Joint Health Systems Research Initiative, and member of Tanzania’s National eHealth Steering Committee and the Steering Committee for Monitoring and Evaluation.

His experience in training Post-Doctoral, Doctoral and Masters students in Tanzania led to his 2013 appointment as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Life Sciences of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology.#