Prof. Mala Rao is Director of the Ethnicity and Health Unit and Senior Clinical Fellow in Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London. She previously served as Director of Public Health in the UK NHS and as Head of the Public Health Workforce for England, and led the Public Health Foundation of India’s first Institute of Public Health under a UK-India health partnership.

Her work spans public health practice, policy, research, and training, with major contributions to workforce development, health systems strengthening, and environmental health in the UK and internationally. She chairs the WHO Southeast Asia Region’s Expert Group on the Environmental Determinants of Climate Change and Health.

A global leader in health equality, her achievements include research into health financing innovation and the development of locally appropriate primary care models as an essential basis for universal health coverage and building health resilience to the climate crisis. Policies informed by her research have benefited healthcare for millions in the most vulnerable communities.

Mala is a recognised champion of climate action, safe water and sanitation, and gender equity. She was Vice Chair of the global charity WaterAid UK for 8 years and is now a trustee of the Community of Women in Water.