Faizullah Kakar (, , born 24 December 1950) is a retired Afghan epidemiologist. He retired from civil service on 30 March 2020. He previously served as the Chief of Staff to President Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan Ambassador to Qatar, the Adviser to president for Health and Education, and the Deputy Minister of Public Health for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Kakar also previously served as the Presidential National Focal Point for Polio Eradication for Afghanistan, as part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation effort to eradicate polio. Kakar has written and spoken internationally about numerous challenges faced in Afghanistan, including infectious disease epidemics, maternal mortality and the dangers of herbicides used to eradicate poppy.
Education
Kakar attended secondary school at Lycee Habibia in Kabul, Afghanistan. In 1975, Kakar graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology from Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana. In 1977, Kakar received a master's degree in Toxicology from Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1982, Kakar completed his doctoral degree (PhD) in Epidemiology from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. From 1981 to 1988, Kakar also served on the board of the Islamic School of Seattle, Washington.
Career
At the University of Washington, from 1984 to 1986, Kakar worked as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology. In 1986, he was hired as a Staff Scientist at Cancer Control Research Unit of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington.
In 1988, he moved to Peshawar, Pakistan where he founded the Research and Advisory Council of Afghanistan (RACA). He served first as General Chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Public Health, Interim Islamic Government of Afghanistan. In 1990, Kakar served as Dean for the College of Medicine, then Vice-Chancellor before serving as Chancellor of Islamic University of Afghanistan (IUA) in Peshawar, Pakistan until 1996. From 1993 to 1995, Kakar also served as the Deputy Minister of Public Health for the Islamic Government of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan.
In 1997, Kakar moved to Islamabad, Pakistan where he was selected by United Nations as the Medical Officer/Epidemiologist for World Health Organization (WHO). Kakar was first to develop and coin the term "Disease Early Warning System" (DEWS) in Pakistan, which is a surveillance system recognized now throughout the world and being copied in many countries. Kakar worked for the WHO for 7 years.
In 2005, Kakar was again tapped as Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Public Health by the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Kabul where he served for 5 years. Kakar opposed mass spraying of fields with herbicide glyphosate to eradicate poppy, which was later proven to be carcinogenic in humans.
In 2009, he was promoted to Minister Adviser to the President on Health and Education Affairs. In 2012, he was also assigned to be the Presidential Focal Point for Polio Eradication, a position with global support as Afghanistan remains one of only three countries in the world with endemic polio transmission.
In 2016, Kakar was appointed as the Afghan Ambassador to Doha, Qatar where he worked closely to support efforts for peace in Afghanistan.
Awards
Award from the Clinical Nutrition research Unit of University of Washington to investigate the interaction between Selenium and Omega-3 fatty acids in relation to breast cancer, 1986. Award from the United States National Cancer Institute to investigate whether carnitine can serve as a biochemical marker of dietary fat intake, 1988. Award from the World Health Organization (WHO) to test a method of Vital Statistics Collection in Afghanistan 1990. Award from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to conduct surveys on the indicators of child mortality in Afghanistan, 1994.