Mehek Ali

Mehek Ali leads social behaviour change initiatives; her expertise lies at the intersection of psychology, education, and participatory frameworks. She holds Bachelor’s (Honours, 2012) and Master’s (Distinction, 2015) degrees from Queen’s University and the University of Birmingham, respectively. She has worked in programs focused on child and adolescent wellbeing, women’s empowerment, community inclusion, training and learning, infectious diseases, mental health, and systems strengthening. She has been the principal investigator on several projects, including the destigmatization of HIV, COVID-19 vaccine confidence, and integrated early childhood development. She also leads the arts and community engagement work across multiple programs, such as for people living with TB, psychosis, and others. She ensures research is communicated back to the communities it is meant to serve, taking a science communication and co-creative approach to dissemination. Presently, Mehek serves as the Associate Director, Community Engagement, at IRD Global.

Dr. Lubna Samad is a paediatric surgeon based in Karachi, Pakistan, with a focus on global surgery research, program implementation and advocacy. She led the development of Pakistan’s national surgical plan – “National Vision for Surgical Care 2020-25” – in collaboration with Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, aimed at incorporating surgical care delivery within the country’s health plan. She has worked extensively on developing programs for common surgical conditions in newborn and children, with an emphasis on evidence-driven “last mile” health delivery. She is the Director of Global Surgery Programs at IRD Global.

Syed Zaid bin Rashid is the Country Director at IRD Pakistan, where he specializes in strategic stakeholder engagement, donor relations, and high-stakes program execution. A leader at the intersection of social impact and operational scaling, Zaid has a proven track record of navigating complex institutional landscapes to drive systemic change.

His career is defined by a unique duality of experience; he has held leadership roles at The Aman Foundation and began his journey in social impact with the Engro Foundation. This mission-driven foundation is complemented by his executive tenure in the private sector with Zip24 and Vava Cars, bringing a lean, results-oriented commercial lens to the development space. An Acumen Pakistan Fellow, Zaid’s commitment to governance is reflected in his service as a former Board Member for Aahung, AmanTech, and AmanHealth. He holds an MBA Executive from IBA Karachi and a BSc (Hons) in Economics from LUMS.

Dr. Tapash Roy is a global health expert with over 28 years of experience in public health research, program management, and implementation across developing and developed settings. Since 2017, he has served as Country Director for IRD Global in Bangladesh, providing strategic leadership and overseeing a diverse country portfolio. His expertise spans epidemiology and implementation research, including clinical trials, disease surveillance, program evaluation, and health systems strengthening across areas such as maternal and child health, infectious diseases, NCDs, and digital health. He has previously held research roles at the University of Nottingham and the Open University (UK) and worked extensively with leading NGOs in Bangladesh. Dr. Roy is a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery and serves on several national technical committees in Bangladesh. He holds a PhD in Public Health and Epidemiology from the University of Nottingham.

Uzma Khan is a physician, a public health implementer, researcher, an advocate for TB and for the implementation of integrated, equitable health practices. Uzma has extensive experience in the evaluation of TB programs; in overseeing, implementing and conducting MDR-TB research; and has provided TB technical assistance to countries in South & Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. She represents IRD as a part of the endTB leadership and is currently a Central Co-I for the endTB clinical trials (www.endTB.org). She previously served as Co-PI of the endTB observational study. Uzma has provided technical oversight for access to and scale up of hepatitis C services in Pakistan. She is also a member of the regional Green Light Committee (rGLC) for the WHO EMRO region. Uzma holds a medical degree, as well as a Masters in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. Her interests include implementation science, health equity, advocacy and policy.

Dr. Naila Baig-Ansari, PhD (Epidemiology), is a senior epidemiologist with over two decades of experience in research leadership, ethical oversight, and data governance. She currently serves as Consultant and Director of the IRD Institutional Review Board, providing strategic oversight of research quality, protocol compliance, and data integrity across health programs. Dr. Baig-Ansari has led the establishment of accredited Institutional Review Boards, transitioned large-scale research data systems to REDCap, supervised clinical and population-based research initiatives, and provided technical leadership in study design, monitoring and evaluation, and regulatory compliance. Her expertise ensures rigorous methodological standards, ethical compliance, and high-quality data management aligned with international best practices and donor requirements

Qadeer Baig is a development management professional with more than 30 years of experience in governance, public policy, youth engagement, and gender equality in Pakistan and internationally. He has worked extensively with governments, donors, INGOs, NGOs, and media to strengthen development systems and improve program management. At IRD Global, he led the Gender Access Program (Kiran Sitara Program), empowering adolescent girls to promote healthy communities. He also served as Program Director and Senior Program Advisor for the Pakistan Deworming Initiative, supporting annual treatment of approximately 17 million children in 47 high-risk districts. Under his leadership, more than 55 million deworming treatments were delivered through government-led systems. Previously, as Country Representative of Rutgers and Chair of the Pakistan SRHR Alliance, he led national advocacy to address child, early, and forced marriage. Qadeer has contributed to global expert groups convened by UNFPA, UNESCO, and World Health Organization (WHO) on sexuality education. He has also served on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Roster of Experts and supported institutional strengthening of government–NGO partnerships. As a consultant and team lead, he has conducted evaluations and capacity-building assignments across South Asia, East Africa, Central Asia, and Afghanistan. He represented the Government of Pakistan as an official delegate to the United Nations Commission on Population and Development from 2011 to 2016. Qadeer holds an MSc in Management of NGOs from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also holds master’s degrees in Statistics and Economics from Pakistan.