Nasim Pourghazian is a medical doctor with more than five years of experience in clinical and public health in Europe, the Middle East, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. She obtained her medical degree in Sweden and joined the World Health Organization (WHO) a couple of years later.

In her current position as a technical officer in the department of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health, Nasim provides technical support in the field of NCD prevention and management to ministries of health and other key stakeholders in a number of WHO member states. This entails liaising with policy-makers, academicians, clinical professionals, civil society and other UN-agencies, as well as coordinating technical work and response throughout the three levels of the organization (global – regional – national).

Prior to joining WHO, Nasim initiated her specialization as a child- and adolescent psychiatrist in Stockholm and had worked with a number of NGOs such as BRAC, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, Amnesty International and Medicine du Monde (MDM), parallel to her medical studies and professional career.

Nasim aspires to continue working in public health in a way that engages stakeholders and individuals beyond the health sector to improve the health and well-being of populations in an equitable way. Her research as an AsiaGlobal Fellow will look into the importance of stakeholder network analysis for the successful implementation of national NCD plans from Asian perspectives.