Publications
Primary Care in Emerging Markets: Why the Gap Between Policy and Practice Persists
Policy Brief | 2026 | Emerging Health International
Authored by Ali Alqeisi
What it is:
A focused policy brief examining why primary care strengthening consistently underperforms across emerging markets — despite near-universal policy commitment. Identifies three specific causes and provides practical recommendations for health system leaders, policymakers, and investors.
Why it matters:
Primary care is the foundation of every functioning health system. Understanding why investment in it consistently fails to produce results is essential for anyone working to improve healthcare outcomes in emerging markets.
Who it’s for:
Health system policymakers, government health advisors, development finance institutions, and healthcare investors evaluating primary care opportunities in emerging markets.
2020
Shaping 21st Century Public Health in Pakistan
Working Paper | 2020 | Tabadlab & Emerging Health International
What it is:
A substantive policy working paper examining Pakistan’s healthcare system — its structural challenges, chronic governance gaps, and the urgent need for reform. Co-produced by EHI and Tabadlab, one of Pakistan’s leading policy research organizations, this paper maps six core health system components requiring targeted investment and proposes a transformation roadmap aligned with Pakistan’s Sustainable Development Goals commitments.
Why it matters:
Pakistan’s health system challenges are not unique to Pakistan. The patterns identified in this paper — fragmented service delivery, weak governance, insufficient investment in preventive care, and the gap between policy intent and operational reality — are consistent across emerging markets. This paper provides one of the most rigorous examinations of how these challenges intersect and what a credible transformation roadmap looks like in practice.
Who it’s for:
Healthcare policymakers and government health advisors, hospital system leaders and administrators in emerging markets, healthcare investors and development finance institutions evaluating health sector opportunities, and researchers and academics working on health system strengthening in low- and middle-income countries.
In view of Pakistan’s international commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and a continually lagging performance in nutrition, infectious diseases, and preventive healthcare, a national focus on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) offers a unique opportunity at the turn of the decade. This paper examines Pakistan’s healthcare system and the emerging health requirements and deficiencies. This analysis is followed by an overview of UHC and its relevance as a framework to improve the country’s healthcare system. The paper then discusses Pakistan’s progress towards UHC and concludes with a transformation roadmap for an improved and effective 21st-century healthcare system that can serve Pakistanis.
July 2020
The Demand for New Solutions: Public Health Systems in a Post-COVID World
Policy Roundtable Discussion | July 2020 | Tabadlab
What it is:
A high-level panel discussion bringing together diverse global healthcare experts to examine the challenges facing public health systems and the demand for new solutions in the aftermath of COVID-19. Moderated by Mosharraf Zaidi of Tabadlab, the roundtable features EHI CEO Dr. Muhammad Ali Chaudhry alongside leading voices from clinical, operational, and investment perspectives — including executives from Clemenceau Medical Center, NorthStar Healthcare Advisors, Makkah Healthcare, and Sehat Kahani.
Why it matters:
COVID-19 exposed the structural vulnerabilities of health systems across emerging markets with unprecedented clarity. This discussion captures the thinking of global healthcare leaders at a pivotal moment — examining not just the immediate crisis but the longer-term systemic reforms required to build resilient, responsive healthcare systems capable of serving growing populations in resource-constrained environments.
Who it’s for:
Healthcare leaders and administrators navigating post-pandemic system reform, policymakers and government advisors working on health system resilience, investors and partners evaluating healthcare opportunities in emerging markets, and healthcare professionals interested in the intersection of clinical practice and health system design.
- Dr. Zeina Khouri, Chief Clinical Executive – Clemenceau Medical Center
- Steven J. Thompson, Principal – NorthStar Healthcare Advisors
- Dr. Muhammad Ali Chaudhry, Founder & CEO – EHI
Dr. Dilshaad Ali bin Abas Ali, CEO – Makkah Healthcare, KSA Ministry of Health - Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram, CEO – Sehat Kahani
- Tabadlab Policy Roundtable 12 – The Path to Universal Health Coverage
July 2020
Addressing Shifting Priorities in Emerging Markets
Leadership Interview | July 2020 | Tabadlab & Emerging Health International
What it is:
An in-depth interview with EHI Founder and CEO Dr. Muhammad Ali Chaudhry, exploring Pakistan’s evolving health landscape and the broader challenges facing healthcare systems across emerging markets. Dr. Chaudhry examines the changing nature of public health needs, the opportunities that crises like COVID-19 surface for systemic reform, and the critical and often underestimated role of the private sector in building sustainable public health infrastructure.
Why it matters:
This interview offers rare, candid insight from a healthcare leader with deep operational experience across emerging markets — someone who has navigated the gap between policy ambition and implementation reality firsthand. The perspectives shared here on private sector engagement, systemic reform, and the practical challenges of healthcare transformation remain as relevant today as when they were recorded.
Who it’s for:
Healthcare investors and development partners evaluating private sector healthcare opportunities, policymakers and health system leaders considering public-private partnership models, hospital administrators and clinical leaders working on system-level improvement, and healthcare professionals and academics interested in emerging market health system dynamics.
