Syriacus Buguzi

Syriacus Buguzi is a trained medical doctor who turned to journalism. He holds a Masters in ScienceCommunication from The University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. He graduated from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (Muhas) in 2013, where he earned a medical degree but he went on to pursue a career in journalism. This was after he realized that there was a communication gap between medical scientists and journalists in Tanzania.

He is passionate about raising the profile of health/medical journalism in his country, promoting medical/health research by empowering medical scientists to communicate their research findings and innovative ideas through mass media as well as making complex, jargon-laden science accessible, understandable and engaging to the public.

Buguzi, with over 6 years of experience as a full time journalist; specializing on healthcare reporting, is the founder of MedicoPRESS, an organization that promotes high quality and independent medical journalism and scientific writing in Tanzania. Through organization, he has mentored several journalists to become health reporters in his country and promoted research works.

He has developed a digital initiative dubbed: MwanaSayansi, a Kiswahili science news portal that is expected to increase access of science information to majority of the lay audience in Tanzanian who prefer to read information their native language. The platform is accessible through https://sayansi.medicopress.media a subdomain of www.medicopress.media

Dr Buguzi has facilitated a number of workshops for researchers on Communicating Science to the media at Muhas where he also plays a key role as a medical communication specialist for Tanzania Medical Journal (TMJ), an academic journal of the Medical Association of Tanzania which is managed by Muhas. He helps convert research into news stories that are engaging to the public and policymakers.

This year (2020), he completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), as he pursues his dream of becoming an authoritative voice in science communication in his country; broadening the scope of communication in other fields such as technology, environment and agriculture. He regularly contributes his science articles in the Oxford-based global science news portal SciDev.Net.

After completing medical training and going through internship at Mwananyamala Regional Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Dr Buguzi decided to work as a full time journalist for The Citizen, a national daily newspaper, where he now works as an Assistant News Editor with focus on the Weekend Editions. However, he began publishing in The Citizen from around 2010 as a correspondent and later became a permanent staff. He pioneered the newspaper’s health magazine, Your Health.

He began his journalistic career as a health correspondent with The African in 2009-2010, soon after, he undertook short part time training in Basic Journalism and Public Relations at Maarifa Media Trust in Dar es Salaam.

In 2014, Buguzi won the David Astor Journalism Award – offered by a London-based charity that supports independent journalists in East Africa. He was the winner from Tanzania.

As part of his award program, he was attached to The Independent newspaper in London for a month, working with its health and science reporters, and spent two weeks at The Observer/Guardian UK. Later, he was attached at the Bhekisisa Health Journalism Centre for one and a half months in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He is married, and blessed with a son.