Montasser Kamal is the Director for Global Health at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Montasser Kamal re-joined IDRC in 2016, having previously worked at the Centre from 2000-2. He has more than 35 years of experience in international development, including in the civil society, government and philanthropic sectors. He led IDRC’s Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) initiative and the Centre’s Health Research Partnerships. Montasser Kamal was formerly the deputy director for Global Health Policy and Research at Global Affairs Canada. He also worked at the former Canadian International Development Agency, as team leader of Health Specialists, and he also served as a reproductive health policy advisor and manager of Multilateral Health Institutions and Partnerships. Between 2007-14, at the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office of the Ford Foundation, he supported research, policy advocacy and programming related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as HIV/AIDS.

Montasser Kamal is an MD with Diploma and holds MSc and PhD degrees in medicine, international development and medical anthropology from Egypt, the United Kingdom and Canada.