Dr SM Moazzem Hossain joins IUB as director of Center for Health, Population and Development

He brings more than three decades of experience in global public health, health systems, and emergency response to the position, the university says

Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) has appointed Dr SM Moazzem Hossain as the director of the Center for Health, Population & Development (CHPD).

The appointment took effect on Wednesday, Jun 3, IUB said in a press release.

“Dr Hossain brings more than three decades of experience in global public health, health systems, emergency response, immunisation, maternal and child health, nutrition, and large-scale programme leadership across South Asia, [West Asia], North Africa and global headquarters roles,” the statement said.

Before joining IUB, Moazzem held several senior positions at UNICEF, including principal advisor and chief of health in Afghanistan, deputy director of the Global Polio Eradication Programme at UNICEF Headquarters in New York, chief of health and nutrition in Iraq, and regional advisor for health and nutrition for the West Asia and North Africa region. He also served in senior positions at Save the Children-UK, ICDDR,B and Pathfinder International in Bangladesh.

“In Afghanistan, he provided strategic and operational leadership for one of the largest health operations in the UN system, managing a portfolio of over USD 400 million and supporting more than 2,400 health facilities nationwide. He also led UNICEF’s engagement with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank on large-scale health financing, including additional financing of more than USD 400 million for emergency health response,” the statement said.

“At UNICEF headquarters, he co-led the development of the Global Polio Eradication Strategy 2022–2026 and its multi-year budgeting framework. He also worked on monitoring, evaluation, research and integration of polio eradication with broader health systems.”

Moazzem has an MBBS from Dhaka Medical College, a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, and an MBA from CSM Institute of Graduate Studies, USA/Canada. He is also a fellow of Public Health Faculty UK, by distinction.

He has authored and co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, monographs and policy papers, with work published in journals including Lancet Global Health, BMJ Global Health, Health Policy and Planning, Advances in Nutrition, and Disaster.

Moazzem has also held teaching roles as assistant clinical professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and as visiting lecturer and guest faculty for public health and professional training programmes in Asia and West Asia.

“The CHPD conducts interdisciplinary research on health, population and development issues, including urban health, chronic disease risk factors, social and psychological determinants of health, inequity in health, emergency response and digital health solutions in low-resource settings,” IUB says.