Dr Zafar Mirza has been the Director of Health System Development at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. He is a medical doctor with post-graduation in Public Health in Developing Countries from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a clinical stint in mental health. Before his current responsibility he was leading the Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property team at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, for 6 years. He also served as a Regional Adviser for Essential Medicines and Pharmaceutical Policies in the WHO Regional Office for 5 years prior to moving to WHO headquarters.

For 12 years before joining WHO, he was a founder Executive Director of a civil society organization. He has a long standing experience of working at national, regional and global levels in public and private health sectors. He has extensively travelled, published and contributed to improving public health in many countries.  The Senior Strategic Advisor has also served as Special Advisor for Health to the Prime Minister, where he was an integral part of COVID19 related program held under the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).