National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)

From a Sleeping Sickness Unit to a Modern Public Health Research Hub

For more than a century, NIMR Tabora has connected scientific discovery with practical public health action.

Established in Tabora in 1922 to support regional control of sleeping sickness, the unit has evolved into one of Tanzania’s oldest public health research platforms and a strategic scientific presence in the western zone. Since it was taken by the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in 1979, the Centre has maintained its excellence and focal point for sleeping sickness research and monitoring in the country. Because of changing dynamics of public health threats, its mandate has expanded from a single disease to a multidisciplinary portfolio covering infectious and non-infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, climate and health, outbreak preparedness, clinical research, genomics, data science and health systems.