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.

Expansion of cancer care and control in countries of low and middle income: a call to action.
Authors: Authors: Farmer P, Frenk J, Knaul FM, Shulman LN, Alleyne G, Armstrong L, Atun R, Blayney D, Chen L, Feachem R, Gospodarowicz M, Gralow J, Gupta S, Langer A, Lob-Levyt J, Neal C, Mbewu A, Mired D, Piot P, Reddy KS, Sachs JD, Sarhan M, Seffrin JR.
Lancet
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Tuberculosis control is crucial to achieve the MDGs.
Authors: Authors: Atun R, Raviglione M, Marais B, Zumla A.
Lancet
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Factors influencing performance of Global Fund-supported tuberculosis grants.
Authors: Authors: Katz I, Aziz MA, Olszak-Olszewski M, Komatsu R, Low-Beer D, Atun R.
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis
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HIV in Asia: universal access in sight.
Authors: Authors: Kazatchkine M, Atun R.
AIDS
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Asia can afford universal access for AIDS prevention and treatment.
Authors: Authors: Komatsu R, McLeod R, Sarkar S, Siripong N, Gupta I, Tangcharoensathien V, Brown T, Jeugmans J, Avila-Figueroa C, Atun R.
AIDS
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Know your epidemic, know your response: targeting HIV in Asia.
Authors: Authors: Lazarus JV, Curth N, Bridge J, Atun R.
AIDS
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HIV epidemics and prevention responses in Asia and Eastern Europe: lessons to be learned?
Authors: Authors: Bridge J, Lazarus JV, Atun R.
AIDS
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Why do health systems matter? Exploring links between health systems and HIV response: a case study from Russia.
Authors: Authors: Tkatchenko-Schmidt E, Atun R, Wall M, Tobi P, Schmidt J, Renton A.
Health Policy Plan
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Health-system strengthening and tuberculosis control.
Authors: Authors: Atun R, Weil DE, Eang MT, Mwakyusa D.
Lancet
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Scale-up of services and research priorities for diagnosis, management, and control of tuberculosis: a call to action.
Authors: Authors: Marais BJ, Raviglione MC, Donald PR, Harries AD, Kritski AL, Graham SM, El-Sadr WM, Harrington M, Churchyard G, Mwaba P, Sanne I, Kaufmann SH, Whitty CJ, Atun R, Zumla A.
Lancet
View full abstract on Pubmed