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.

Should development agencies care about mental health?
Authors: Authors: Jenkins R, Baingana F, Ahmad R, McDaid D, Atun R.
Ment Health Fam Med
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Scaling up mental health services: where would the money come from?
Authors: Authors: Jenkins R, Baingana F, Ahmad R, McDaid D, Atun R.
Ment Health Fam Med
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What action can national and international agencies take?
Authors: Authors: Jenkins R, Baingana F, Ahmad R, McDaid D, Atun R.
Ment Health Fam Med
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Mental health and the global agenda: core conceptual issues.
Authors: Authors: Jenkins R, Baingana F, Ahmad R, McDaid D, Atun R.
Ment Health Fam Med
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Sex, drugs and economic behaviour in Russia: a study of socio-economic characteristics of high risk populations.
Authors: Authors: Wall M, Schmidt E, Sarang A, Atun R, Renton A.
Int J Drug Policy
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Sexual and reproductive health activities in HIV programmes: can we monitor progress?
Authors: Authors: Komatsu R, Lee D, Lusti-Narasimhan M, Martineau T, Vinh-Thomas E, Beer DL, Atun R.
J Epidemiol Community Health
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Tuberculosis in prisons in sub-Saharan Africa--the need for improved health services, surveillance and control.
Authors: Authors: O'Grady J, Hoelscher M, Atun R, Bates M, Mwaba P, Kapata N, Ferrara G, Maeurer M, Zumla A.
Tuberculosis (Edinb)
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Scaling up towards international targets for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria: contribution of global fund-supported programs in 2011-2015.
Authors: Authors: Katz I, Komatsu R, Low-Beer D, Atun R.
PLoS One
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Long-term care of AIDS and non-communicable diseases.
Authors: Authors: Ullrich A, Ott JJ, Vitoria M, Martin-Moreno JM, Atun R.
Lancet
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Effect of investment in malaria control on child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa in 2002-2008.
Authors: Authors: Akachi Y, Atun R.
PLoS One
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