Fadi El-Jardali

Professor Fadi El-Jardali (PhD, MPH) is a recognized health policy and systems researcher and global advocate for the use of science and research evidence in policy decisions and practice. He has extensive international and regional experience and multidisciplinary background in health policy, systems and management. He held several senior management and policy positions in public and private sector. He is currently the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice, Professor (and former Chairperson) of Health Policy and Systems, Founder & Director of the Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center; Co-Director of the Center for Systematic Reviews in Health Policy and Systems Research (SPARK). He is also a part time Professor at McMaster University in Canada. He is also the Co-Editor in Chief for Health Research, Policy and Systems (HARPS) Journal.  He was recently inducted into the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health.

His research is connected to real world health systems and priorities and grounded in the practical understanding of economic, social, environmental and political realities, constraints and context. He has published extensively on health systems and policy (more than 115) in international peer review and impact factor journals in addition to book, book chapters, and several knowledge translation products on policy priority areas.  He supported several governments (including ministries of health) and health care organizations (including hospitals and primary health care centers) with many impactful initiatives. He mentored and coached more senior managers, decision makers and health care providers in more than 22 countries across the globe. He co-hosted the Global Health System Research Symposium (HSR2020) for the first time the Middle East and co-chaired its Program Working Group (PWG) related to theme of Reimagining Health Systems for Better Health and Social Justice.  He initiated and led the COVID-19 Rapid Response Series Initiative that produced more than 20 policy products directed at government and health care organizations (several products translated to different languages). He leads the K2P Mentorship Institute that provides mentorship and couching to research and policy organizations in the six WHO regions. 

Before joining academia, Fadi has worked and held senior positions with policy analysis related organizations in Canada such as the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (as Hospital Consultant), Federal department of health / Health Canada (as Senior Policy Advisor) and the Health Council of Canada. He was also a hospital CEO. 

 Dr. El-Jardali is a recipient of the Global Health Leadership Award and was elected twice to the Board of Health Systems Global (HSG) Society. He is a recipient of the Fellowship on Evidence Informed Policy from the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research. He is the founding member of the MENA Health Policy Forum. He is a member of the Global Steering Committee for the WHO Evidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet).  He is also a member of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE) and the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) research and funding Committee. He has served on other high level committees in United Nations Organizations, Wellcome Trust, etc.

He led and directed several multi-country initiatives and impactful projects in several regions with a focus on Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) including in the Middle East and North Africa Region; Asia, and Africa. He is an international accreditation surveyor. He is also an ISQUA (The International Society for Quality in Healthcare) expert.  

He has a master of Public Health (health management and policy) and PhD. in Public Policy (with focus on Health Policy) from Carleton University in Canada.