The COSECSA Secretariat headquarters is housed within the East, Central Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA) in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Secretariat’s main responsibilities are to manage the strategic development of COSECSA and to support the day-to-day administration of the COSECSA training and examination processes.
The activities of the College are carried out by the Secretariat under the guidance and leadership of the Council/Executive of the College. The secretariat is led by the Chief Executive Officer(CEO)
The Secretariat collaborates and works with national and international partners in delivering training to different groups of medical specialists in the region. It receives support in areas like finance, administration and capacity building, research, and IT support from the partners.
Ms. Stella Itungu
Chief Executive Officer
She is the Chief Executive Officer of the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA). She holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Finance and Investment from Coventry University and a First Class (Honours) Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration (Human Resources Management) from Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU).
She joins COSECSA with over 20 years of experience in Administration, Operations Management, Strategic Planning, Human Resources & Financial Management, and presents a strong background in planning, coordinating, and implementing donor-funded regional projects/programs among the multiple Member States. Previously, Ms. Itungu has worked with the East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Uganda) under the World Bank Funded Financial Sector Development and Regionalization Project, in charge of Project Administration and Coordination. Ms. Itungu has also been involved in planning, coordinating, and facilitating training under the USAID and World Bank Capacity Building Programs.
Prior to the East African Community, she undertook various managerial functions; as Director of Operations on a Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement under the Global Fund (Malaria Component) Pilot Project in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Malaria Consortium in Uganda, and Human Resources and Administration Management with the Consulate of Finland-Uganda.
Stella can be contacted at: ceo@cosecsa.org
Mr. Christopher A. Minja (MBA-ITM, ADIT)
Examination Officer
He is an experienced ICT Specialist with more than 15 years in the industry. Mr. Minja currently works as Examinations and Training Programme Officer for COSECSA. He is responsible for the management of the COSECSA training and examinations process and is the main contact person for COSECSA trainees and examiners.
For more information on COSECSA training and exams please contact Mr. Minja at exams@cosecsa.org
Ms. Diana Kaiza
administrative Assistant
Ms. Kaiza has seven years’ experience in the Banking industry. She served as Bank Operation Officer at the FBME Bank Ltd and later as a Liquidation Officer under the Bank of Tanzania (BOT)
She joined COSECSA in 2018 as an Intern, she later took the position of Country Coordinator for Tanzania and Administrative Assistant for Women in Surgery Africa (WiSA). She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Studies from the Open University of Tanzania
Ms. Kaiza currently works as an Administrative Assistant for COSECSA. She is responsible for the management of the COSECSA administrative activities.
For more information on COSECSA administrative issues please contact Ms. Kaiza at info@cosecsa.org
Mr. Niraj Bachheta
Assistant education officer
IT graduate, possessing Knowledge of computer hardware and software applications. Has a Bachelor’s Degree in IT & Business Information Systems and a Master’s Degree in Computing and IT. Additionally possesses Photo/videography skills.
Mr. Bachheta currently works as an Assistant Education Officer for COSECSA. He is responsible for the management of the COSECSA educational activities including e-learning.
For more information on COSECSA educational activities please contact Mr. Bachheta at education_asst@cosecsa.org
Mr. Amani Pascal
Assistant examination officer
Mr. Pascal holds a Bachelor Degree in Information Technology (IT), he has experience in Software and Website Development, he also possess graphics and communication skills.
Mr. Pascal joined COSECSA in 2019 and he is currently working as an Assistant Examination Officer for COSECSA. He is responsible for the management of the COSECSA programme entry and examination registration activities including e-logbook.
For more information on COSECSA examination, programme entry and eLogbook please contact Mr. Pascal at exams_asst@cosecsa.org
Dr. Godfrey Sama Philipo
Research and Patient Outcomes Coordinator
He is a Research and Patient Outcomes Coordinator for the RCSI/COSECSA Collaboration Programme at the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA).
Godfrey received his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania, a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the Southern Medical University (SMU) in China and is currently taking an online Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC) degree at the University of British Columbia (UBC) where he also serves as an Adjunct Faculty Member for the Branch of International Surgical Care at UBC.
He worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the MUHAS-ORCI-UCSF Cancer Collaboration, leading a number of multidisciplinary international collaborative cancer research projects. He was a Co-coordinator of the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA) Global Surgery Small Working Group, and co-founded the International Students Surgical Network (InciSioN), a nonprofit organization currently representing over 5000 students, trainees, and early career physicians around the world who are passionate about Global Surgery. He also participated in the collection of the World Development Indicator (WDI) surgical data of 2016 on access to quality surgical care globally. Godfrey has coordinated and led a number multidisciplinary partnership projects in Global Surgery and Cancer Surgery. His interest is Global Surgery research, training and advocacy, partnerships development and Implementation Science research.
For more information on Research under the RCSI/COSECSA Collaboration Programme, please contact Dr Philipo at: rpo.coordinator@cosecsa.org
Mr. Jonathan Omongole
Finance Officer
He holds a Master of Arts degree in Financial Services from Makerere University, Kampala (MUK), a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Makerere University, Kampala (MUK), a Diploma in Accounting and Business and currently at the final stage of a professional course in Accounting – Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
He joins COSECSA with over 7 years’ experience in Financial Management, Audit, Risk Management and Compliance, working mainly in the Commercial Banking sector. Previously, Mr. Jonathan Omongole worked with the Government of Uganda (District Level Programme Management and Support), Diamond Trust Bank Uganda, United Bank for Africa, Uganda and I & M Bank, Uganda.
Mr. Jonathan Omongole can be contacted through finance@cosecsa.org
Country Coordinators
COSECSA so far has Country Coordinators in 12 of its Member States (Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). They coordinate COSECSA activities at national level and report to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the COSECSA Secretariat.