Dr Ayat Abu-Agla (MBBS, MPH, MD Comm Med, MFPH, PhD) leads the Health Services management Centre (HSMC) Dubai at the University of Birmingham Dubai, directs its health system research Centre and MSc Global Health System Leadership. Her work at the World Health Organisation has informed Health system and Health workforce reform through the Working for Health Action Plan (2022-30), the multi-SDG joint WHO-ILO-OECD Working for Health programme (2017-21), its Multi-Partner Trust Fund, and the UN-China Peace & Development Fund. At national level, as former Research Director at HRH Observatory (NHRHO) of the Federal Ministry of Health Sudan, led various HWF surveys, policies as migration management policy, developed performance measure of community midwife and spear head the first bilateral health agreement between the Sudan and Ireland. As former Director at the Sudan Medical Specialisation Board, she developed its first strategy and co-established its Education Development Centre. She sits on many boards, former STAC member for TDR and coordinated Global Health Workforce Network (GHWN) Youth Hub. She co-chairs the Teaching and Learning Thematic Working Group of Health System Global.
Abu-Agla is a medical doctor, Community Medicine consultant and implementation research scientist with a PhD in Global Health from Trinity College Dublin. Her primary area of research involves global health, Reproductive health, health systems, health workforce in post-conflict settings and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that targets investments in education, skills, employment, performance and retention in pursuit of global health security and universal health coverage.