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The MSc in Health Monitoring and Evaluation

The rationale for introducing a Master of Science in Health Monitoring and Evaluation in Tanzania stemmed from the findings of a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) conducted in May 2012, which involved employers and employees from selected regions, districts, health management teams, health projects and NGOs. The primary aim of the TNA was to assess existing M&E training gaps and demands in the health sector. The TNA established a significant gap in and need for M&E capacity throughout the health sector in Tanzania that necessitated the establishment of this programme.

Mzumbe University was selected to house this new programme, and, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the University of California, San Francisco, designed a two-year intensive course that equips students with the knowledge, skills and competencies required for effective job performance as M&E officers within health-focused organizations and entities. In addition, it builds their capacity in implementing monitoring and evaluation components and orients them to the application of these components to respond to organizational problems related to information and programmes, with a focus of using M&E to improve the quality of both.

The Centre of Excellence in Health Monitoring and Evaluation

A scholarly research agenda is the foundation of a world-class programme in monitoring and evaluation. Research advances knowledge, informs policy and actions, refreshes and informs classroom teaching, and provides opportunities for graduate students. Faculty will be attracted to a school where colleagues are doing high quality research. Through the generation of original ideas and knowledge, faculty research can influence public health practice and policy and advance the field of M&E.

To that end, Mzumbe University has leveraged the faculty capacity and M&E expertise that has been developed to support the MSc in Health M&E to launch the Centre of Excellence in Health M&E which will contribute to research, dissemination, expertise and teaching in the field of M&E in Tanzania and beyond. This Centre of Excellence in Health M&E at Mzumbe will:

  • offer additional academic programmes including short courses and, ultimately, executive education opportunities;
  • publish the East African Journal of Applied Health M&E (EAJAHME), which will provide a forum for dissemination of M&E research and evaluation projects for M&E researchers and practitioners across Tanzania and the region;
  • support an annual conference in applied health monitoring and evaluation that will bring together M&E researchers and practitioners from various institutions and organizations to share experiences in M&E in different health settings; and
  • house and support faculty who conduct M&E research and who can serve as a pool of consultants for national (and regional) M&E consultancies.