Abdul Ghaffar

Dr Abdul Ghaffar has worked for over 30 years in low- and middle-income countries managing research for health; planning, designing and evaluating national health systems; and teaching health policy and management. Before joining the Alliance in 2010, Dr Ghaffar served as Regional Advisor for Research in the Eastern Mediterranean Office of the World Health Organization. Earlier, he worked as a Health Policy and Systems Specialist at the Global Forum for Health Research. Dr Ghaffar began his career in Pakistan as a public health physician, eventually transitioning into various senior leadership positions such as Assistant Director-General of Policy and Planning; Deputy Director-General of International Health; and Director of the Health Services Academy, a national school of public health. Dr Ghaffar has played a leading role in establishing and managing policy and research fora involving civil society, policy-makers and development partners, both at national and international levels. His desire and interest is to trigger a global movement to generate and use research evidence for improved policy and management decisions at the country level. Dr Ghaffar is a physician by training with a PhD in International Health Systems from Johns Hopkins University.