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.

Diabetes Prevalence and Its Relationship With Education, Wealth, and BMI in 29 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
Authors: Authors: Seiglie JA, Marcus ME, Ebert C, Prodromidis N, Geldsetzer P, Theilmann M, Agoudavi K, Andall-Brereton G, Aryal KK, Bicaba BW, Bovet P, Brian G, Dorobantu M, Gathecha G, Gurung MS, Guwatudde D, Msaidié M, Houehanou C, Houinato D, Jorgensen JMA, Kagaruki GB, Karki KB, Labadarios D, Martins JS, Mayige MT, Wong-McClure R, Mwangi JK, Mwalim O, Norov B, Quesnel-Crooks S, Silver BK, Sturua L, Tsabedze L, Wesseh CS, Stokes A, Atun R, Davies JI, Vollmer S, Bärnighausen TW, Jaacks LM, Meigs JB, Wexler DJ, Manne-Goehler J.
Diabetes Care
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The quality of care in outpatient primary care in public and private sectors in Malaysia.
Authors: Authors: Chin MC, Sivasampu S, Wijemunige N, Rannan-Eliya RP, Atun R.
Health Policy Plan
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Burden of Mental, Neurological, Substance Use Disorders and Self-Harm in North America: A Comparative Epidemiology of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Authors: Authors: Vigo D, Jones L, Thornicroft G, Atun R.
Can J Psychiatry
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On discount rates for economic evaluations in global health.
Authors: Authors: Haacker M, Hallett TB, Atun R.
Health Policy Plan
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Evaluation of sex differences in dietary behaviours and their relationship with cardiovascular risk factors: a cross-sectional study of nationally representative surveys in seven low- and middle-income countries.
Authors: Authors: McKenzie BL, Santos JA, Geldsetzer P, Davies J, Manne-Goehler J, Gurung MS, Sturua L, Gathecha G, Aryal KK, Tsabedze L, Andall-Brereton G, Bärnighausen T, Atun R, Vollmer S, Woodward M, Jaacks LM, Webster J.
Nutr J
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Artificial Intelligence and its role in surgical care in low-income and middle-income countries.
Authors: Authors: Reddy CL, Mitra S, Meara JG, Atun R, Afshar S.
Lancet Digit Health
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Implications of multimorbidity patterns on health care utilisation and quality of life in middle-income countries: cross-sectional analysis.
Authors: Authors: Sum G, Salisbury C, Koh GC, Atun R, Oldenburg B, McPake B, Vellakkal S, Lee JT.
J Glob Health
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The political economy of health financing reform in Malaysia.
Authors: Authors: Croke K, Mohd Yusoff MB, Abdullah Z, Mohd Hanafiah AN, Mokhtaruddin K, Ramli ES, Borhan NF, Almodovar-Diaz Y, Atun R, Virk AK.
Health Policy Plan
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Artificial intelligence and algorithmic bias: implications for health systems.
Authors: Authors: Panch T, Mattie H, Atun R.
J Glob Health
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Global public and philanthropic investment in childhood cancer research: systematic analysis of research funding, 2008-16.
Authors: Authors: Loucaides EM, Fitchett EJA, Sullivan R, Atun R.
Lancet Oncol
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