Naelijwa Mshanga

Naelijwa Mshanga is a Tanzanian nutritionist who holds a doctoral degree in human nutrition and dietetics from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology. Her doctoral research examined the relationship between aflatoxin exposure and micronutrient deficiencies among children ages 6 to 24 months in rural Tanzania. She is currently a lecturer in human nutrition at Mbeya University of Science and Technology, where she teaches and mentors students.

Her work at the intersection of nutrition, food safety and public health has earned her several awards, including the 2023 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talents Award for sub-Saharan Africa. Through the CEGA Fellowship, her research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of community-based interventions and policy-relevant strategies to improve child nutrition and reduce dietary exposure to aflatoxins in low-resource settings.