Dr. Abdullah Alarifi

Dr. Abdullah M. Alarifi is the Director-General of Global Health at the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia and Senior Advisor to the Deputy Minister for Population Health. His work as a public health and global health physician spans global health diplomacy, population health, health-system transformation, and international health policy.

He represents Saudi Arabia in key global health processes and contributes to the Kingdom’s engagement with the World Health Organization, through the WHO Executive Board. His work focuses on connecting national health priorities with global health governance, multilateral collaboration, and evidence-informed policy.

At the national level, Dr. Alarifi has led and contributed to major population health initiatives, including Saudi Arabia’s National Population Health Strategic Framework and work advancing healthy ageing, healthy life expectancy, the Sustainable Development Goals, and universal health coverage.

Dr. Alarifi is also an Adjunct Professor and a member of the Global Health Hub at Alfaisal University, and Co-Founder and Vice Chair of the Saudi Longevity Society. He holds an MBBS from King Saud University and a Master of Public Health from Cardiff University. He is board-certified in both Preventive Medicine and Community Medicine and is a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health. He has authored numerous scientific publications and has extensive experience across public health policy, research, academia, and global health diplomacy.