Lakshmi N Balaji

Global health leader and expert in primary health care and health systems strengthening, with a strong record of results in international development, global health, and multisectoral programs. Advocate for children, with expertise in results-based management and human rights-based approaches to program cooperation. Developed transformative products and processes adopted across UNICEF and the wider UN system, including MICS (Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys) in 1993 and user-friendly national social indicators databases such as ChildInfo and DevInfo. Developed a University Diploma program on Maternal and Child Health (1994) for distance education of medical doctors through IGNOU. Co-led the PHC Accelerator with WHO from 2017 to 2023, managed EQUIST, and led the review of MDGs 4, 5, and 6 for the UN Secretary-General and the UN General Assembly. 

• Global health
• Primary health care
• Health systems
• Equity in health
• Human rights

• Global health
• Primary health care
• Equity in health

• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, PhD in Medicine, 1989
• National Board of Examinations, Delhi, India, Dip.N.B. in Public Health, 1988
• University of Delhi, India, MBBS, 1980

• Adjunct Professor, Public Health, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of San Francisco 2025-present
• Visiting Faculty, School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University 2024
• Adjunct Faculty, School of Global Public Health, New York University 2024
• Chief, Primary Health Care and Health Systems Strengthening, UNICEF HQ. 2017-2023
• Deputy Representative and Programme Coordinator, UNICEF, Afghanistan 2014-2017
• Chief of Strategic Planning, Division of Policy and Planning, UNICEF HQ 2004-2014

• Global Corporate Award for International Developoment, 2013, New York 
• B.L. Kapur Oration Award, 1994 by Delhi Medical Association, India
• Joint founder of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys system in 1993, since implemented by UNICEF in over 120 countries.
• Dr. Mohan Lal Nayyar Award for Best Outgoing Junior Resident, 1981, LNJPN and GB Pant Hospitals and Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, India
• Dr. Satya Gupta Award 1980 for Best paper in Social Pediatrics, Indian Academy of Pediatrics, Delhi

• Global health economics: The Equitable Impact Sensitive Tool (EQUIST) – development, validation, implementation and evaluation of impact (2011 to 2022), Journal of Global Health, Dec. 15, 2023.
• Op-Ed: G20: Are we prepared for inevitable global health crises? Forbes-India, Sept. 6, 2023.
• Political economy analysis of subnational health management in Kenya, Malawi and Uganda Health Policy and Planning - The Journal on Health Policy and Systems Research (LSHTM), April 11, 2023.
• Op-Ed: Lesson for G-20: Economic systems can’t go on sans robust health systems. The Economic Times, India,  June 5, 2023.
• Assessing socio-economic profile of U-Reporters: Towards establishing a pool for equity analysis of future crowdsourced surveys Journal of Global Health, July 1, 2021.
• Lakshmi N. Balaji, Chapter on Malnutrition in the book 'Climate Change and Disease Dynamics in India' Editors Nitish Dogra and Sangeet Srivastava, Published by The Energy and Resources Institute, (TERI) India, 2012