Wolfgang Munar

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Bio

Dr. Wolfgang Munar is Associate Professor in Global Health Systems at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. He serves as the Program Director for the Global Health DrPH program. A graduate of Harvard University’s School of Public Health and Universidad del Norte’s School of Medicine, Professor Munar has been engaged in global health practice and research in maternal neonatal and child health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and Tuberculosis in Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and South Asia.

He began his career as a health system reformer in his native country, Colombia, where he served as a State Secretary of Health and Vice-Minister of Health. Afterwards, he went on to become an expert in global health, global development, and multilateral finance through his work with organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, among others.

Since 2009, Dr. Munar became involved in health systems research particularly in the area of performance improvement in primary healthcare systems in low- and middle income countries.

Dr. Munar has served on several advisory committees on multilateral and philanthropic organizations involved in global health. Currently, he maintains an active global health research program in India, Honduras, El Salvador, and Kenya.

Expertise

Expertise:

Global Health

Health Policy

Maternal and Child Health

Program Evaluation

Health Services Delivery

Education:

Sc. M. 1989, Harvard University, School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts Health Policy & Management
M. D. 1983, Universidad del Norte, School of Medicine, Barranquilla, Colombia- Medicine

Teaching:

PUBH-8406 - Advanced Topics: Health Research in the Global Arena – Doctoral Seminar

Research

Research:

Dr. Munar's research is focused on characterizing the contextual conditions and causal mechanisms under which performance management interventions generate improvements in primary care systems of low- and middle-income countries. He has been principal investigator in the following research programs: (1) Spreading lessons and sustaining improvements in primary health care system performance in Mesoamerica (2016-2018); (2) Novel approaches to measuring demand-side community perceptions and barriers to family planning via social network analysis in Kenya; and (3) Identifying and exploring gaps in research and implementation on Quality, Safety, and Performance Management in Primary Health Care Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. He is senior investigator in two additional projects: (1) Learning from Ananya - Scaling Up Improved Primary Health Care System Performance in Bihar, India; and (2) Designing and implementing a maternal iron deficiency and anemia control strategy in Odissa, India using a social norms approach and a Self Help Groups (SHGs) platform.

Publications

Publications:

CONTRACTOR, N., MCKNIGHT, M., LUNGEANU, A., MUNAR, W., NEGRON, R. & CHRISTAKIS, N. A. 2019 (Forthcoming). Using Trellis software to enhance high-quality large-scale network data collection in the field. Social Networks.
WAHID, S., MUNAR, W., DAS, S., GUPTA, M. & DARMSTADT, G. 2019. "Our village is dependent on us. That's why we can't leave our work." Characterising mechanisms of motivation to perform among Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) in Bihar. Health Policy and Planning, Forthcoming.
MUNAR, W., SNILSTVEIT, B., ARANDA, L. E., BISWAS, N., BAFFOUR, T. & STEVENSON, J. 2019. Evidence gap map of performance measurement and management in primary healthcare systems in low-income and middle-income countries. BMJ Global Health, 4, e001451.
MUNAR, W., SNILSTVEIT, B., STEVENSON, J., BISWAS, N., EYERS, J., BUTERA, G., BAFFOUR, T. & ARANDA, L. E. 2018. Evidence gap map of performance measurement and management in primary care delivery systems in low- and middle-income countries - Study protocol. Gates Open Res, 2, 27.
MUNAR, W., WAHID, S. S. & CURRY, L. 2018. Characterizing performance improvement in primary care systems in Mesoamerica: A realist evaluation protocol. Gates Open Res, 2, 1.
SEDLANDER, E., BINGENHEIMER, J. B., EDBERG, M. C., RIMAL, R. N., SHAIKH, H. & MUNAR, W. 2018. Understanding modern contraception uptake in one Ethiopian community: a case study. Reproductive Health, 15.
SEDLANDER, E., BINGENHEIMER, J. B., THIONGO, M., GICHANGI, P., RIMAL, R. N., EDBERG, M. & MUNAR, W. 2018. "They Destroy the Reproductive System": Exploring the Belief that Modern Contraceptive Use Causes Infertility. Studies in Family Planning, 49, 345-365.
SEDLANDER, E., RIMAL, R. N., TALEGAWKAR, S. A., YILMA, H. & MUNAR, W. 2018. The RANI Project: A socio-normative intervention to reduce anemia in Odisha, India: A formative research protocol. Gates Open Research, 2, 15.
DARMSTADT, G. L. & MUNAR, W. 2013. Behavior Change and Community Participation Assessing Causal Pathways Affecting Neonatal Mortality. Jama-Journal of the American Medical Association, 310, 969-970.
DARMSTADT, G. L., MUNAR, W. & HENRY, S. K. 2014. Newborn health: Everybody's business. Global Public Health, 9, 752-759.
MUNAR, W., HOVMAND, P. S., FLEMING, C. & DARMSTADT, G. L. 2015. Scaling-up impact in perinatology through systems science: Bridging the collaboration and translational divides in cross-disciplinary research and public policy. Seminars in Perinatology, 39, 416-423.
MUNAR, W., HOVMAND, P. S., FLEMING, C. & DARMSTADT, G. L. 2015. Scaling-up impact in perinatology through systems science: Bridging the collaboration and translational divides in cross-disciplinary research and public policy. Semin Perinatol, 39, 416-23.