Prof Paschal Joseph Ruggajo, MD, MMed, MSc, PhD, FRCP (UK)

Associate Vice Provost, Tanzania | Vice Dean, Medical College, Dar es Salaam | Professor of Medicine & Consultant Nephrologist

Prof. Paschal Joseph Ruggajo is the Associate Vice Provost, Tanzania, and Vice Dean of the Aga Khan University Medical College in Dar es Salaam. He is a Professor of Medicine and Consultant Nephrologist with extensive experience in academic medicine, clinical care, research, medical education, health policy and higher education leadership. He joined AKU in 2024 as Associate Professor and Vice Dean and was appointed Associate Vice Provost, Tanzania, in 2026.

Prior to joining AKU, Prof. Ruggajo held senior academic and leadership positions at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), including Head of the Department of Internal Medicine and Dean of the School of Medicine. From 2022 to 2024, he served as Director of Curative Services at Tanzania's Ministry of Health, overseeing policy implementation across hospitals nationally and championing the advancement of super-specialized healthcare services.

Prof. Ruggajo holds an MD and MMed in Internal Medicine from MUHAS, an MSc in Nephrology, and a PhD from the University of Bergen, Norway. He also undertook postdoctoral training at the Harvard School of Public Health, focusing on the epidemiology of HIV and chronic kidney disease. In 2026, he was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (UK).

He has played an important role in advancing nephrology training, haemodialysis therapies and kidney transplantation in Tanzania, including contributing to the establishment of haemodialysis services and the kidney transplantation programme at Muhimbili National Hospital. His professional and scholarly interests include clinical and tropical nephrology, nephropathology, dialysis and transplantation, medical education and curriculum development, clinico-epidemiology and health outcomes, and public health interventions in non-communicable diseases.

His research interests include the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) model, particularly the association between low birth weight and future kidney disease, as well as HIV-associated nephropathy, sickle cell nephropathy, tropical nephrology and other non-communicable diseases. He has an extensive record of postgraduate teaching, mentorship, research and scholarly publication and currently serves as President of the Nephrology Society of Tanzania (NESOT).