Image of Rifat Atun, MD, BS

Rifat Atun, M.B.,B.S.

Professor of Global Health Systems, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr Rifat Atun is Professor of Global Health Systems at Harvard University and the Faculty Chair for the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program.

From 2006- to 2013, Dr Atun was Professor of International Health Management and Head of the Health Management Group at Imperial College London. From 2008 to 2012 he served as a member of the Executive Management Team of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as the Director of Strategy, Performance and Evaluation Cluster, where he chaired the panel that oversaw investments of around $4billion each year in more than 100 countries.

Dr Atun has published more than 400 papers in leading journals including the Lancet, NEJM, Academy of Management Journal, Lancet Global Health, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Lancet Oncology, and Lancet Psychiatry and PLoS Medicine. He has led or has been a commissioner in 12 Lancet Commissions and was a co-author and member of the Advisory Committee for the Editors for Disease Control Priorities (DCP) 3. In 2020, he was recognized by the Web of Science as one of the World’s Highly Cited Researchers.

Prof. Atun has worked with more than 30 governments globally and with the World Bank, World Health Organization, and the UK Department for International Development (DfID) to design, implement and evaluate health system reform initiatives. In 1999-2006 he was a member of the UK DfID Resource Centre for Health Systems.

Dr Atun has led executive education programs and undertaken assignments for major organizations including Novartis, Medtronic, GSK, Pfizer Inc., the Vodafone Group, and Hofmann-La Roche.

Professor Atun’s research has two major strands. The first examines health systems performance and how design and implementation of health system reforms impact on outcomes. The second strand of research explores adoption and diffusion of innovations in health systems (e.g. new health technologies, disease control programmes, and primary healthcare reforms), and innovative financing in global health. Prof. Atun is a co-Investigator and the joint lead for the innovation work stream at the National Centre for Infection Prevention and Management at Imperial College.

He is also a co-Investigator and the Theme Lead for ‘Organisational Change, Health Economics and Evaluation’ at the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit for Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection.

Global Adoption of Value-Based Health Care Initiatives Within Health Systems: A Scoping Review.
Authors: Authors: Douglas AO, Senkaiahliyan S, Bulstra CA, Mita C, Reddy CL, Atun R.
JAMA Health Forum
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Unified health surveys for integrated health systems.
Authors: Authors: Bulstra CA, Teufel F, Joshi P, Atun R.
Lancet HIV
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Contribution of investment in health and cancer control to economic growth in Commonwealth countries.
Authors: Authors: Atun R, Fries JL, Hernandez-Villafuerte K, Müller M, Ostwald D, Schmitt M.
EClinicalMedicine
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Optimising adolescents and young adults' utilisation of sexual and reproductive health and HIV services in Chad: a sensemaking approach.
Authors: Authors: Bedingar E, Paningar F, Bedingar N, Mbaidoum E, Ngaradoum N, Atun R, Yousafzai A.
BMJ Glob Health
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Effective coverage for reproductive, maternal, neonatal and newborn health: an analysis of geographical and socioeconomic inequalities in 39 low- and middle-income countries.
Authors: Authors: Marthias T, Anindya K, Saputri NS, Putri LP, Atun R, Lee JT.
BMJ Glob Health
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The economic burden of ischaemic heart diseases on health systems: a systematic review.
Authors: Authors: Rittiphairoj T, Bulstra C, Ruampatana C, Stavridou M, Grewal S, Reddy CL, Atun R.
BMJ Glob Health
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Integration of healthcare services for HIV and non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa: protocol for a scoping review of randomised controlled trials.
Authors: Authors: Murphy L, Bulstra CA, Figi JT, Fladger A, Atun R.
BMJ Open
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A Binary Prototype for Time-Series Surveillance and Intervention.
Authors: Authors: Olejarz J, Hoffmann T, Zapf A, Mugahid D, Molinaro R, Brown C, Boltyenkov A, Dudykevych T, Gupta A, Lipsitch M, Atun R, Onnela JP, Fortune S, Sampath R, Grad YH.
medRxiv
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Payment in arrears: a global health inequity that must be corrected.
Authors: Authors: Atengble K, Atun R, Aziato L, Baiden F, Boxall JL, Gyapong M, Head MG, Mogre V, Pathak P, Reeves J.
Lancet Glob Health
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Use of Financial Hardship as a Metric for Assessing Financial Toxicity in Surgical Trauma Patients.
Authors: Authors: Ehsan AN, Saha S, Hathi P, Vengadassalapathy S, Sana H, Ganesh P, Huang CC, Chauhan S, Singhal M, Weissman JS, Atun R, Sabapathy SR, Ranganathan K.
J Craniofac Surg
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