Bangladeshi physician and internationally recognised public health leader Qudsia Huda has received the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s 2026 Leadership Award in Public Health Practice for her outstanding contributions to global health, humanitarian action, disaster preparedness and climate resilience.

She is the first Bangladeshi to receive this prestigious Harvard recognition. Her achievement is not simply an individual professional milestone; it is also a powerful acknowledgement of Bangladesh’s intellectual capacity and growing contribution to global public health leadership.

It raises an equally important question: while international institutions recognise and rely upon accomplished Bangladeshi professionals, is Bangladesh doing enough to bring their knowledge, experience and leadership into national policymaking?

Huda currently leads the World Health Organization’s work on disaster risk management, resilience and climate-related health risks at its headquarters in Geneva. In this position, she helps shape global policies and strategies for preparing for, responding to and recovering from health emergencies, including major disasters.

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health announced the recipients of its 2026 Alumni Awards on August 3. They are expected to be formally honoured during the School’s Alumni Weekend on September 25 and 26.

Every year, the Harvard Chan Alumni Association recognises graduates whose work has made a meaningful and lasting contribution to public health. The Leadership Award in Public Health Practice honours a graduate who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the practice of public health, whether in the public or private sphere.

The award recognises selfless service, significant contributions to the adoption and application of public health principles, and effective leadership in government, non-governmental organisations and other public-service institutions. Huda’s career of more than 25 years reflects all these qualities.

From Bangladesh to global public health leadership

Born and educated in Bangladesh, Huda began her professional career as a physician. Her experience in medicine gradually led her towards a broader understanding of health.

Treating an individual patient can save one life, but prevention, preparedness and stronger public health systems can protect entire communities. This understanding inspired her transition from clinical medicine to public health.

She later travelled to the United States and earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2002. While studying at Harvard, she was among the pioneering members of the first cohort of the School’s Humanitarian Studies Program.

The programme connected medical and public health knowledge with the complex realities of conflict, disasters, displacement, disease outbreaks and humanitarian emergencies. Those experiences helped prepare her for a career that would take her from Bangladesh to crisis-affected regions across several continents and ultimately to the highest levels of global health policymaking.

Her journey demonstrates that a professional whose foundations were built in Bangladesh can, through education, dedication and humanitarian commitment, help influence policies affecting millions of people around the world.

More than two decades at WHO

Huda joined the World Health Organization in 2004. During more than two decades with the UN health agency, she has held leadership responsibilities in responses to some of the most serious humanitarian and public health emergencies of modern times.

Her work has included the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Ebola outbreaks, the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous conflicts and natural disasters across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Each of these emergencies presented very different challenges. The Indian Ocean tsunami devastated coastal communities across several countries and demonstrated the urgent need for coordination among health authorities, humanitarian organisations and disaster-management agencies.

Ebola required specialised outbreak control, community engagement, public trust and strong measures to protect frontline health workers. COVID-19 confronted the world with an unprecedented challenge involving disease surveillance, medical research, emergency communication, health-system preparedness and international cooperation.

Through these crises, Huda has contributed to a vital transformation in emergency public health: moving from reacting after disaster strikes to identifying risks, strengthening systems and preparing communities in advance.

An important objective of her work is to ensure that hospitals and essential health services remain operational during emergencies. A disaster becomes far more destructive when medical facilities are damaged, health workers are unable to reach their workplaces or patients lose access to essential care.

Preparedness, therefore, is not limited to storing emergency supplies or drafting response plans. It involves building resilient institutions capable of functioning under extreme pressure.

Climate change as a health emergency

Huda’s recognition comes at a time when climate change is becoming one of the greatest threats to public health worldwide.

Extreme heat, floods, cyclones, droughts and wildfires can cause immediate deaths and injuries. Their wider effects, however, may continue for months or years. Climate-related disasters can contaminate drinking water, increase food insecurity, damage hospitals, interrupt essential medical services, displace communities and create conditions in which infectious diseases spread more easily.

Children, older people, persons with disabilities, low-income communities and displaced populations are often affected most severely. Climate change is therefore no longer only an environmental concern. It is also a matter of public health, economic security, human rights and social justice.

Huda’s work is particularly relevant to Bangladesh, one of the countries most exposed to climate-related hazards.

Bangladesh has achieved considerable progress in cyclone preparedness, early-warning systems, emergency shelters and community-based disaster management. Yet flooding, river erosion, rising salinity, extreme heat and sea-level rise continue to threaten millions of people and place increasing pressure on the country’s health system.

Her leadership at WHO helps connect the experiences and needs of climate-vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh with international public health policy.

A Bangladeshi voice in global health diplomacy

Beyond her technical responsibilities, Huda is also respected for her contribution to global health diplomacy. Her work requires her to build agreement among countries and institutions with very different political realities, resources and health priorities.

She serves as co-chair of the International Recovery Platform and as WHO’s focal point for disaster risk reduction within the G20 and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Adopted by UN member states in 2015, the Sendai Framework provides an international roadmap for reducing disaster losses and building resilience. It emphasises understanding risk, strengthening governance, investing in prevention and preparedness, and improving post-disaster recovery.

By representing health priorities in these international processes, Huda helps ensure that hospitals, healthcare workers, essential medical services and vulnerable populations remain central to disaster planning.

She is also a prolific author and technical expert. Her publications, guidance documents and policy frameworks have contributed to the development of emergency preparedness and health emergency and disaster-risk management worldwide.

Harvard’s other 2026 award recipients

Huda is one of five distinguished graduates selected for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s 2026 Alumni Awards.

Lorraine Dean, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Felix Gutzwiller, a leading Swiss public health academic and former parliamentarian, received the Alumni Award of Merit. Established in 1992, it is the highest honour presented by the Harvard Chan Alumni Association.

Abraar Karan, an infectious-disease physician, epidemiologist and adjunct professor at Stanford University, received the Emerging Public Health Professional Award.

Amber Nigam, co-founder and chief executive of the healthcare artificial-intelligence company Basys.ai, received the Public Health Innovator Award.

According to Harvard Chan School, the recipients reflect the breadth of modern public health and the institution’s mission to improve health and promote equity so that everyone can thrive.

Bangladesh must value its global talent

Huda’s international recognition is a source of pride for Bangladesh. But achievements of this nature should not be celebrated only through congratulatory messages, newspaper articles and social-media posts. They should encourage the country to reconsider how it engages its globally accomplished citizens.

Bangladeshis are holding senior positions in international organisations, universities, scientific institutions, financial bodies, technology companies and diplomatic forums. Many possess extensive experience in managing crises, running complex institutions, negotiating international agreements and designing evidence-based policies.

Their expertise could make a valuable contribution to Bangladesh’s development. They should be given meaningful opportunities to advise, serve and, where appropriate, lead.

This does not mean every accomplished expatriate must permanently return to Bangladesh. Modern technology and international mobility make it possible to engage them through national advisory councils, expert panels, research partnerships, policy committees, visiting appointments and short- or long-term leadership roles.

Bangladesh has earned international recognition for its progress in disaster preparedness. Nevertheless, much remains to be done in pandemic readiness, climate-related health planning, hospital safety, urban public health, emergency coordination and scientific research.

The experience of professionals such as Huda could help strengthen these areas. More importantly, their involvement could bring international knowledge into closer contact with Bangladesh’s local realities.

The selection of national leaders and advisers should be based on competence, integrity, professional achievement and a commitment to public service not partisan affiliation, personal connections or bureaucratic convenience.

A country cannot prevent the loss of talent merely by appealing to patriotism. It must create credible institutions and a working environment in which qualified professionals are respected, their independence is protected and their recommendations are taken seriously.

When the world recognises Bangladeshi talent, Bangladesh must have the confidence and foresight to make that talent part of its own national journey.

More than an individual achievement

Huda’s success will inspire young Bangladeshi physicians and public health professionals, particularly women who aspire to leadership in international institutions.

Her journey demonstrates that a medical education in Bangladesh, combined with advanced training, perseverance and a commitment to humanity, can lead to influence at the highest levels of global health governance.

She is expected to be formally honoured during Harvard Chan School’s Alumni Weekend in September. Yet the most meaningful celebration of her achievement would be for Bangladesh to develop a serious national strategy for engaging accomplished citizens serving around the world.

Qudsia Huda’s award is a proud moment for Bangladesh. It should also be a reminder that the country’s future will depend not only on recognising excellence abroad, but on creating opportunities for such excellence to contribute to national leadership at home.