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Prof. Gasto Msoffe Frumence is a Professor of Health Systems Governance in the Department of Development Studies at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), a position he has held since July 2024. He has more than two decades of experience in university teaching, research, postgraduate supervision, consultancy, and academic leadership. He previously served as Dean of the School of Public Health and Social Sciences from 2020 to June 2024 and Head of the Department of Development Studies from 2017 to July 2020. Before joining MUHAS in 2002, he worked as a management consultant with Afro Aid Development Consultants and the Ministry of Health.
He holds a PhD in Public Health from Umeå University, Sweden (2011), a Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Dar es Salaam (1997), and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration from the same university (1994). His academic background combines public health, social science, and public administration, providing a foundation for his work in health systems governance, leadership, management, and policy analysis.
Prof. Frumence teaches health systems management, leadership and governance at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has also participated in international teaching exchange programmes at Umeå University in Sweden, the University of Bergen in Norway, and Neu-Ulm University in Germany, where he taught related subjects. He has supervised more than 50 master’s students and supervised or co-supervised several PhD students.
His contributions to academic development include leading teams responsible for establishing the MSc in Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation in Health and the MSc in Health Economics and Policy at MUHAS. He has also led research and training initiatives that support postgraduate education and strengthen health systems research capacity. Beyond academia, he applies his expertise to building the management and leadership capacity of district health managers in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. He has published more than 80 papers in local and international peer-reviewed journals.
Prof. Frumence’s research focuses on health systems governance, leadership and management, health policy analysis, decentralisation, human resources for health, community health systems, and implementation research. His interests also include antimicrobial resistance, HIV/AIDS, reproductive and maternal health, adolescent health, social capital, gender, nutrition, and equitable access to healthcare.
He has led and contributed to research, evaluations, policy reviews, and capacity-building initiatives supported by national and international partners, including Sida, UNICEF, WHO, USAID, UNFPA, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His activities include strengthening district health management, developing postgraduate programmes, and building research capacity for universal health coverage.
1. Strengthening Health Systems Research and Training Capacity for Universal Health Coverage — Project Lead; 2024–2030.
2. Implementation Research on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Services among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Songwe Region — Principal Investigator; May–December 2026.
3. Capacity Building of Zanzibar’s District Health Managers — Team Leader; January 2023–ongoing.
4. Leadership, Management and Governance for Malaria Eradication in Six High-Burden Countries — Lead; September 2021–ongoing.
5. Harmonizations of Community Health Governance Structures in Tanzania — Principal Investigator; January 2021–2024.
6. Socio-Anthropological Assessment of Ebola Vulnerability and Response Preparedness in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar — Co-Investigator; October 2022–July 2023.
7. Evaluation of AMREF’s Safe Motherhood (Uzazi Uzima) Project in Simiyu Region — Principal Investigator; February–June 2021.
8. Developing a Culturally Sensitive Strategy for Reducing Child Malnutrition in Tanzania — Principal Investigator; February 2020–October 2021.
9. Strengthening Health Economics at MUHAS and the University of Bergen — Principal Investigator; 2018–2024.
10. Policy Analysis of Antimicrobial Resistance Drivers in Formal and Informal Human and Animal Healthcare Systems — Co-Investigator; January 2018–August 2021.
11. Strengthening Health Systems Research for Enhancing Innovations and Sustainable Socio-Economic Development — Project Lead; 2015–2024.
12. Baseline Assessment of Community Health Workers’ Contribution to Reproductive Health and Communicable and Non-Communicable Disease Knowledge and Practices — Co-Investigator; January 2019–March 2020.
13. Improving Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Services through Microplanning in Geita and Morogoro Districts — Principal Investigator; October 2018–2020, including implementation assessment during 2019–2020.
14. Development of Guidelines for Adolescent Participation and Youth-Friendly Local Governance in Tanzania — Principal Investigator; May 2019–August 2020.
15. Review of the National eHealth Strategy 2013–2018 and Development of the National eHealth Strategy 2019–2024 — Co-Investigator; August 2018–September 2019.
16. Review of the Electronic Population Register Pilot and Development of a Rollout Strategy in Tanzania Mainland — Co-Investigator; January–June 2018.
17. Community Health Worker Learning Agenda: Acceptance, Adoption and Feasibility of Integrated Home-Based Care and Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Services — Co-Investigator; 2015–2018.
18. Community Health Worker Learning Agenda: Recruitment and Selection of Trainees in Kigoma and Iringa Regions — Co-Investigator; January 2015–January 2016.
19. Understanding Social Capital and Health among Older People in Urban Dar es Salaam — Principal Investigator; 2015–2016.
20. Facilitators and Barriers to Older People’s Access to Health Services in Tanzania — Principal Investigator; 2014–2015.
21. Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Needs Assessment in Tanzania’s Lake and Western Zones — Co-Investigator; December 2014–July 2015.
22. Assessment of Institutional Factors Influencing Petty Corruption in Health Services — Co-Investigator; August 2013–December 2014.
23. Evaluation of the Integrated Maternal and Newborn Health Care Programme in Morogoro Region — Co-Investigator; 2012–2014.
24. Evaluation of Public–Private Partnerships and Service Agreements in Mbeya, Mtwara and Tanga Regions — Co-Investigator; July 2012–January 2013.
25. Decentralisation of Health Services, Healthcare Financing and Human Resources for Health in Tanzania — Co-Principal Investigator; 2009–2015.
26. The Role of Social Capital in HIV Prevention in Kagera Region — Main Researcher; July 2007–2011.
1. Nathanael Sirili, Manase Kilonzi, George Kiwango, Dorkas L. Mwakawanga, and Gasto Frumence, Factors associated with awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 prevention in rural Tanzania: A community-based cross-sectional study. Community Systems for Health Journal May 2026.
2. Sirili, N., Hyuha, G., Kiwango, G., Nyamle, N., Kilonzi, M., Mussa, R., Frumence, G., Sawe, H.R. and Mfinanga, J.A., 2026. Effectiveness of a village emergency care model: a pilot intervention in rural Tanzania. Emergency Medicine Journal.
3. Hyuha, G., Kilonzi, M., Sirili, N., Nyamle, N., Kiwango, G., Mfinanga, J.A., Mussa, R., Frumence, G. and Sawe, H.R., 2025. Access to emergency care in primary healthcare system in Tanzania: a mixed-method community-based study in a resource-limited setting. BMJ Public Health, 3(2).
4. Nyongole, O., Munishi, C., Kimu, N., Sangeda, R.Z., Mseti, M., Lugina, E., Kiwara, F., Sirili, N., Chacha, F., Nicholaus, B. and Frumence, G., 2025. Challenges of data quality for the management of prostate cancer in Tanzania: A hurdle towards improving the quality of service. PLOS Global Public Health, 5(12), p.e0005579.
5. Athanas, Raymond, Heavenlight A. Paulo, Gasto Frumence, Masunga K. Iseselo, and Connie M. Ulrich. "Does financial compensation matter for research participation in prevention trials in Tanzania? Perspectives of healthy volunteers." PLoS One 20, no. 9 (2025): e0321353.
