Abul Azad

Dr. Abul Azad, MBBS, M.Phil, is the Project Director of the MSH-led Better Health in Bangladesh (BHB) project, which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of UKAID. BHB provides technical assistance to the country’s Ministry of Health (MoH) in enhancing accreditation and good pharmacy practices among retail drug outlets and in implementing its Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Program.

Dr. Azad joined MSH following retirement as the Director General of Health Services of Bangladesh, having served under the MoH for 37 years including professorial jobs in medical schools (1983-2020). During his tenure as Director General, Dr. Azad established one of the world’s most effective national digital health information systems. His strong leadership among health managers across the health system supported an effective response to several large-scale public health crises, including the influx of Rohingya refugees and outbreaks of the chikungunya virus, dengue, and COVID-19.

He is known for his extensive expertise as a policy maker, implementer, health systems builder, health administrator and manager, eHealth promoter, public health specialist, researcher, medical teacher, and health activist.