Md Karim Rizwanul

Dr. Md. Rizwanul Karim is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and the Head of the Department of Community Medicine and Public Health at Shaheed M. Monsur Ali Medical College—one of Bangladesh's oldest public medical institutions. He previously served as the Program Manager for a broad range of health areas under the Noncommunicable Disease Control Program at the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW). His portfolio included mental health, autism, neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), substance and alcohol abuse, disability, physiotherapy, palliative care, oral health, thalassemia, and elderly care.

Dr. Rizwan earned his MBBS from Dhaka University and later completed a Master’s in Public Health (Epidemiology) from the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), where he ranked first at the university. He received the Best Performance Award during his foundation training in the Bangladesh Civil Service (Health) cadre. Additionally, he was awarded the Australian Leadership Award in Public Health Leadership and Emergency Management (Global) from Griffith University. He holds a distinction in an Executive Diploma in Population Science from Dhaka University and recently completed an executive course on Lifestyle-Related Diseases (LSRD) through JICA, Japan.

With over a decade of teaching experience and five years of involvement in national health programs, Dr. Rizwan has published more than 40 articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals. His research primarily focuses on nutrition, mental health, quality of life, and the development of tools for assessing perceived quality and satisfaction in primary health care.

He has served as a faculty member at NIPSOM and various government medical colleges, where he led research methodology courses. Currently, he is a visiting faculty member at the Bangladesh Medical Research Council, contributing to training sessions on epidemiological research methods and biostatistics. Dr. Rizwan is also an executive member of the Epidemiological Association of Bangladesh and a life member of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA).

Notably, he played a key role in formulating the National Multisectoral Action Plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, which has been approved by the MOHFW, as well as in drafting the National Mental Health Policy, which is currently awaiting final approval. He was a core member of the working groups for the STEPS NCD Risk Factor Survey 2018 and the National Mental Health Survey 2018–19. He also contributed significantly to the development of the National Cancer Registry for Bangladesh.

Dr. Rizwan served as the focal point for research and survey activities conducted by the Noncommunicable Disease Control Program and acted as the Member Secretary of its Technical Evaluation Committee for Research and Surveys. Additionally, he was the Member Secretary of the National COVID-19 Coordination Committee and actively contributed to the development of the National Mental Health Policy, Mental Health Strategy, and the Multisectoral Action Plan for NCD prevention and control.