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.

Effect of socioeconomic inequalities and vulnerabilities on health-system preparedness and response to COVID-19 in Brazil: a comprehensive analysis.
Authors: Authors: Rocha R, Atun R, Massuda A, Rache B, Spinola P, Nunes L, Lago M, Castro MC.
Lancet Glob Health
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The state of diabetes treatment coverage in 55 low-income and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study of nationally representative, individual-level data in 680 102 adults.
Authors: Authors: Flood D, Seiglie JA, Dunn M, Tschida S, Theilmann M, Marcus ME, Brian G, Norov B, Mayige MT, Singh Gurung M, Aryal KK, Labadarios D, Dorobantu M, Silver BK, Bovet P, Adelin Jorgensen JM, Guwatudde D, Houehanou C, Andall-Brereton G, Quesnel-Crooks S, Sturua L, Farzadfar F, Saeedi Moghaddam S, Atun R, Vollmer S, Bärnighausen TW, Davies JI, Wexler DJ, Geldsetzer P, Rohloff P, Ramírez-Zea M, Heisler M, Manne-Goehler J.
Lancet Healthy Longev
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Effect of multimorbidity on utilisation and out-of-pocket expenditure in Indonesia: quantile regression analysis.
Authors: Authors: Anindya K, Ng N, Atun R, Marthias T, Zhao Y, McPake B, van Heusden A, Pan T, Lee JT.
BMC Health Serv Res
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Medical imaging and nuclear medicine: a Lancet Oncology Commission.
Authors: Authors: Hricak H, Abdel-Wahab M, Atun R, Lette MM, Paez D, Brink JA, Donoso-Bach L, Frija G, Hierath M, Holmberg O, Khong PL, Lewis JS, McGinty G, Oyen WJG, Shulman LN, Ward ZJ, Scott AM.
Lancet Oncol
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Stakeholders' views on the organisational factors affecting application of artificial intelligence in healthcare: a scoping review protocol.
Authors: Authors: Lebcir R, Hill T, Atun R, Cubric M.
BMJ Open
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Variation in the Proportion of Adults in Need of Blood Pressure-Lowering Medications by Hypertension Care Guideline in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1 037 215 Individuals From 50 Nationally Representative Surveys.
Authors: Authors: Sudharsanan N, Theilmann M, Kirschbaum TK, Manne-Goehler J, Azadnajafabad S, Bovet P, Chen S, Damasceno A, De Neve JW, Dorobantu M, Ebert C, Farzadfar F, Gathecha G, Gurung MS, Jamshidi K, Jørgensen JMA, Labadarios D, Lemp J, Lunet N, Mwangi JK, Moghaddam SS, Bahendeka SK, Zhumadilov Z, Bärnighausen T, Vollmer S, Atun R, Davies JI, Geldsetzer P.
Circulation
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Use of social impact bonds in financing health systems responses to non-communicable diseases: scoping review.
Authors: Authors: Hulse ESG, Atun R, McPake B, Lee JT.
BMJ Glob Health
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Global costs, health benefits, and economic benefits of scaling up treatment and imaging modalities for survival of 11 cancers: a simulation-based analysis.
Authors: Authors: Ward ZJ, Scott AM, Hricak H, Atun R.
Lancet Oncol
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A global investment framework for the elimination of hepatitis B.
Authors: Authors: Howell J, Pedrana A, Schroeder SE, Scott N, Aufegger L, Atun R, Baptista-Leite R, Hirnschall G, 't Hoen E, Hutchinson SJ, Lazarus JV, Olufunmilayo L, Peck R, Sharma M, Sohn AH, Thompson A, Thursz M, Wilson D, Hellard M.
J Hepatol
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Cardiovascular disease risk profile and management practices in 45 low-income and middle-income countries: A cross-sectional study of nationally representative individual-level survey data.
Authors: Authors: Peiris D, Ghosh A, Manne-Goehler J, Jaacks LM, Theilmann M, Marcus ME, Zhumadilov Z, Tsabedze L, Supiyev A, Silver BK, Sibai AM, Norov B, Mayige MT, Martins JS, Lunet N, Labadarios D, Jorgensen JMA, Houehanou C, Guwatudde D, Gurung MS, Damasceno A, Aryal KK, Andall-Brereton G, Agoudavi K, McKenzie B, Webster J, Atun R, Bärnighausen T, Vollmer S, Davies JI, Geldsetzer P.
PLoS Med
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