As the Senior Director, Humanitarian Innovation at GCC, Fawad is responsible for the ongoing development and implementation of Humanitarian Grand Challenge (HGC) program of GCC. He is also responsible for maintaining strategic partnership related to HGC and informing the Canadian and Global humanitarian policies and systems.
Fawad Akbari is a pediatrician, global health, and humanitarian response expert with particular focus on health, nutrition, governance, fragility, and intersection across these themes. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, he was the Regional Deputy Director of Programs and Partnerships with Aga Khan Foundation based in Canada, overseeing a diverse portfolio of multi-sectoral programs and partnerships in Canada and the US, including Global Health, Nutrition and Humanitarian initiatives. Before this, he worked with AKF Afghanistan, Cure International Hospital and Marie Stopes International in different managerial and technical leadership capacities.
He has an M.D. degree from Kabul Medical University in Afghanistan, an MPH degree from University of Liverpool in the UK, and a diploma from INSEAD’s European Health Leadership Program in France. He has been involved with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research as Fellow, Coach, Resource Person and Mentor in their Afghanistan and Iraq Fellowship programs since 2009.
He is an Adjunct Professor at University of Ottawa, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, and a member of the WHO Collaborating Center for Knowledge Translation and Technology Assessment for Health Equity at the same University. His research interests are in health governance, community health, conflict, fragility and health, and health systems strengthening.
He also serves on the Board of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4W-Afg) and Canadian Afghan Association of Health Professionals (CAAHP), two Canadian charities that work in Afghanistan.