Neglected Tropical & Infectious Diseases

Biography

Dr. El Maghraby is a senior expert in Global Health Care Systems and Services Development with over 30 years of experience in health sector analysis, organizational, structural and policy reforms for strengthening, and scaling up health sector performance. His experience entails health system reconstruction, human resources planning and capacity building, evidence based policy development, strategic planning towards universal health coverage, and leading programs’ design, implementation and monitoring. His mandate also entailed providing strategic guidance to Governments and Global Institutions. He has a solid track record in health sector reform, managing technical assistance, Public Private Partnerships and maternal, newborn and child health in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He has just concluded an assignment leading WHO health systems reconstruction programme in Libya – based in Tunis – with a multidisciplinary team of experts managing an WHO’s support to the Libyan health sector during the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis. He worked in most of the Arab countries, east, north and southern Africa, and many countries Asia. He was elected as Africa’s Coordinator of the HRH Communities of Practice and jointly plans and drives regional policies, strategies, research, and organizes and chairs health centred conferences in the region. In Iraq, he was instrumental in developing the National Health Policy and National Nursing Strategy while taking strategic steps towards a greater functionality of the National Council of Accreditation of Medical Colleges to improve quality of health professionals nationwide. He worked hand in hand with the Ministry of Health for building capacity of the Ministry and Directorates in the Governorates. Special attention was given to the Human Resources Department and Planning Directorate together with scaling up the Family Health Model as well as strengthening hospital management capacity under exceptional conflict and fiscal crises. A couple of years ago, he provided support to Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health in developing and implementing the health sector decentralization strategy and strengthening provincial capacity and systems performance. Until recently he had been the Chief Health Analyst in the African Development Bank in Tunisia with the mandate of providing health systems strengthening and human resources technical and operational leadership for the African Region. In particular he has extensive experience in North, East and Southern Africa; particularly in Egypt, Tunisia, Soudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Senegal and others. He has been the Team Leader in many projects in low and middle-income countries. He effectively managed senior multi-disciplinary experts on short and long term contracts including professors of world class universities, health economists, financial analysts, procurement experts, environment conservation experts and legal experts, and other cadres. Previously he was the Program Coordinator of a Joint UN Maternal and Neonatal Health Project in Bangladesh. He strategized, harmonised, coordinated and led the planning, implementation and monitoring of the Joint-UN MNH Project (UNICEF, WHO and UNFPA) that aimed at reducing Maternal and Neonatal mortality and morbidity in selected districts in Bangladesh. The project was unique in many ways, successful in attaining planned deliverables and was part of the UN Reform agenda. Working in South Asia he exchanged experiences and lessons learned with Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. In Yemen he finalized a Reproductive Health Project financed by the EC. He also was the Health and HIV/AIDS Advisor for Save the Children UK in South Sudan Program (based in Kenya and S. Sudan) with the responsibility of developing SCUK’s health strategy, provision of policy development and capacity building for the Ministry of Health. In Health Sector Reform Program in Egypt he was instrumental in HSRP’s institutional development and Human Resource Capacity Building. The reform program was innovative and centred around an insurance based family health PHC-model where the financing, service provision and sector regulatory functions are strengthened. Dr El Maghraby is a strong believer in the role of human capital and knowledge resource in health systems. He was the Leadership Development Program Director and the Manager of the Flagship Program for Health Reform and Sustainable Financing. The latter is a world class capacity building program for senior policy and decision makers in health sector development in partnership with the World Bank Institute. On short-term missions Dr El Maghraby worked for the European Commission (EC) in Afghanistan to help the Ministry of Health formulate its decentralization strategy and strengthen provincial health systems. Also in Yemen he was the Health Policy and Planning Advisor to finalize a Reproductive Health Project. In Syria he was among a small team to assess, monitor and advise the Health Sector Modernisation Program. Also he worked for the World Health Organization in Yemen, Iran and Oman to assess, analyse and advise on the Ministries of Health's management and leadership capacity and health system strengthening in those countries. He also has strong experience in health macroeconomics and financing models including social health insurance. Dr El Maghraby is a Medical Doctor with MSc Pt1 in Paediatrics from Cairo University and a Master in Health Management, Planning and Policy from the University of Leeds, UK.

Research Interest

Health Systems Strengthening, Public Health, Newborn and Child Health, Health Sector Reform