This user has not added any information to their profile yet.
Rebecca Beldon Chaula is a Digital Health and Data Science specialist with over 10 years of experience strengthening health information systems, driving digital transformation, and delivering advanced analytics for healthcare in Tanzania. She holds an MSc in Data Science and a BSc in Computer Science and Statistics from the University of Dar es Salaam.
She is a Senior ICT Officer (Data Scientist) in the Directorate of Information and Communication Technology at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), where she supports digital health systems design, data governance, analytics, and capacity building across national and subnational health programs.
Rebecca has led and contributed to national-level consultancies supporting the Ministries of Health in Tanzania and Zanzibar on digital primary healthcare transformation, sustainability planning, and community health system integration. Her work spans:
> Strengthening digital health information systems for evidence-based decision-making.
> AI and machine learning applications in healthcare, including predictive modelling of mother-to-child HIV transmission and machine learning datasets for infectious disease control.
> Big data analytics, GIS, and data processing and management in health systems
> Interoperability and data governance frameworks
She is proficient in Python, R, and SPSS, as well as digital data collection tools including REDCap, ODK, and KoBoCollect. A dedicated trainer, she regularly delivers professional courses in health data analytics, data processing, and data management. Her network, built through years of technical working groups and cross-sector collaboration in the health sector, supports her work across institutions.
Her professional goal is to harness big data, artificial intelligence, and interoperable digital systems to improve healthcare in resource-limited settings.
My research interests are in:
> Digital health information systems in Tanzania.
> AI and machine learning in healthcare.
> Health data governance and interoperability.
> Evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) in Tanzania's national and sub-national-level health systems.
October 2026 – Up to Date: Conducting an endline assessment on the Digital Health Interventions for Diabetes and Hypertension in low-resource settings: A case of Diabetes Compass in Tanzania; the project is under TDA
February 2025 – May 2028: Development of an Artificial Intelligence-Based Application for Predicting Chronic Respiratory Disease Cases for Mitigating Climate Change Impact on Air Quality in Tanzania (AI4PreCRD); Project under COSTECH
Since 2021 – Up to date Co-Organizer of the MUHAS Annual Digital Week Forum and Health Data Analytics Training, with the aim of bringing potential collaborators together and discussing the unique opportunity in digital health technology for the improvement of healthcare in Tanzania.
July 2022 – May 2023: Co-PI on the establishment of machine learning datasets for better healthcare outcomes: A focus on rabies: Meridian Institute, through Lacuna Fund.
February 2024 – October 2025: Joint consultancy to review the National Digital Health Strategy 2019 – 2024 and develop the Tanzania Digital Health Transformation Strategy 2025 – 20230 the project under DTree International.
October 2024 – September 2025: Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions for Diabetes and Hypertension in low-resource settings: A case of Diabetes Compass in Tanzania; the project under TDA
October 2022 – March 2023: Developed an Operationalization and Sustainability plan for the Centre for Digital Health under the Ministry of Health in Tanzania.
October 2021–March 2022: Conducted a situational analysis on the status of primary health care digitalization and created blueprints for a digitalized primary health system with a strengthened Connection to the community health program in Zanzibar under MOH Zanzibar and D-Tree International.
February 2021–January 2022: Conducted data analysis to assess the use of digital platforms for research data management and sharing in sub-Saharan Africa under CYSTINET-Africa.
Sukums, Felix, Bernard Ngowi, Rebecca Chaula, Kim L. Weiszhar, Akili Kalinga, Olena Ivanova, Clarissa Prazeres da Costa et al. "Experiences of Health Research Data Sharing Among Researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cross-Sectional Study." JMIR Formative Research 9 (2025): e69411.
Mzurikwao, Deogratias, Lulu Sakafu, Simeon Mayala, Twaha Kabika, Rebecca Chaula, Zacharia Mzurikwao, Charles Okanda Nyatega et al. "Profiling of Breast Cancer Prevalence and Its Diagnosis Using Varied Imaging Techniques in Tanzania." Journal of Computational Science and Data Analytics 2, no. 01 (2025): 1-15.
Mzurikwao, Deogratias, Jonathan Zeramula, Asa Kalonga, and Rebecca Chaula. "Establishment of Machine Learning Datasets for better healthcare outcomes: A focus on rabies." Tanzania Journal of Health Research 26, no. 6 (2025): 2990-2997.
Sukums, Felix, Deogratias Mzurikwao, Deodatus Sabas, Rebecca Chaula, Juliana Mbuke, Twaha Kabika, John Kaswija et al. "The use of artificial intelligence-based innovations in the health sector in Tanzania: A scoping review." Health Policy and Technology 12, no. 1 (2023): 100728.
Chaula, Rebecca B., and Godfrey N. Justo. "A robust random forest prediction model for mother-to-child hiv transmission based on individual medical history." Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology 41, no. 3 (2022): 64-70.
