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IRD is a global resource for innovative health research and delivery in over 20 countries.

With over 500 staff operating in seven countries, IRD has become a regional resource for innovative global health research and delivery. Founded in Karachi in 2004 and now based in Singapore, IRD has regional offices in Dhaka, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Johannesburg and Karachi. Our teams support and operate global health delivery programs in Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uganda, South Africa, Timor Leste, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Zimbabwe. IRD was founded in Karachi where a lack of well-trained researchers and development professionals, unrealistically low salaries in academia and the non-profit sector, and working environments that do not support innovation presented real challenges to overcome. Our solution lay in attracting back to Pakistan as many recent graduates as we could from some of the best global health and development training programs in the world. To achieve this, IRD established an operational model where all Directors are 100% grant-based and are primarily responsible for bringing in funding for themselves and their teams. In exchange for the risk they undertake for this responsibility, IRD Directors benefit from a professional environment that supports innovation and experimentation, while being compensated salaries that are comparable to academia and the non-profit sector in North America and the EU. We have taken the IRD model to where we work – bringing the best-trained nationals back to their countries for meaningful and rewarding work. Our managers and associates have world-class training, and access their local and global networks to develop and implement innovative new solutions to health and social problems. Our pioneering work in areas where global health, behavioral economics and information technology converge have provided an exciting impetus for growth. In 2012 and 2013, IRD spun off two project teams as independent enterprises operating completely on business principles. IRD's health informatics team became Interactive Health Solutions, our first for-profit enterprise, and our global health delivery team targeting the private sector became Community Health Solutions. While our growth has been remarkable by any standards, it is the people that work here that truly stand out. Because no matter where we work, our team brings the same drive for innovation and commitment to saving lives.

10/10/2026

This World Mental Health Day, we reflect on a question that guides our work: what does it take to make mental health care reach the people who need it most?

For IRD, that has meant years of community-based work on psychosis care in Pakistan. Not care designed in isolation, but care shaped alongside the people living with these conditions, their families, and their communities.

That work has produced Voices in Practice: A Guide for Participatory Mental Health Research and Stakeholder Engagement in South Asia. It brings together the practical learning from the program, for anyone looking to build creative, participatory, and community-led approaches into mental health research and practice.

The thread running through all of this is listening. When people with lived experience help shape the work, it becomes more honest and more useful.

If your work involves mental health, community engagement, or participatory research, please read our guide below:
Read the guide: https://publuu.com/flip-book/1163150/2587330

More on the PIECEs research: https://piecesresearch.com/

06/10/2026

Across countries and health priorities, IRD works to develop and scale evidence-based solutions that respond to the realities of underserved communities.

From newborn screening in Bangladesh to early childhood development in South Africa and community-based healthcare in Pakistan, IRD applies evidence through approaches that improve service delivery, build local capacity and expand access to care.

Lasting impact requires more than delivering a service. It requires investing in the people, systems and models that can sustain and scale effective approaches.

03/10/2026

We celebrated a major milestone: From Pilot to Expansion.

This year we brought together key stakeholders from the districts and municipalities in partnership with the Department of Basic Education in KwaZulu-Natal, to reflect on the journey, share lessons and celebrate the progress made through Kuyakhanya. This integrated Early Childhood Development Program is led by IRD with partners, TREE-ecd and Go GOGO Go , to bring play-based early learning, nutrition supplementation, mental health support, and community engagement for young children and their caregivers.

Here are some highlights and reflections from the key stakeholders who joined us on the day.

30/09/2026

Public health is shaped by complex challenges that affect vulnerable communities every day.

Through the internship experience, our interns had the opportunity to learn about these challenges, explore the solutions being implemented, and understand the impact of IRD’s work in serving vulnerable communities.

As the journey comes to a close, we celebrate the curiosity and perspectives they brought along the way.

Every Vulnerable Life: Cared. Cured.

29/09/2026

At IRD, our values are embedded in how we approach complex challenges and deliver meaningful change.

We bring together evidence, innovation, collaboration, and talent to develop contextualized solutions, strengthen partnerships, measure outcomes, and create lasting change across the communities we serve.

28/09/2026

Maternal and child health remains a critical global priority, with an estimated 260,000 women dying each year all over the world, from pregnancy and childbirth related causes.

At IRD we work to strengthen systems that support women and children. Through evidence-based interventions that improve access, continuity of care and data driven decision making, we help provide essential health services and address gaps that continue to affect underserved communities.

Every Vulnerable Life: Cared. Cured.

25/09/2026

Lung health is influenced by the environments we live in, the care we can access and the actions we take throughout life. From the first breath to healthy ageing, prevention, early detection and access to quality care can help protect lung health.

At IRD, we work alongside communities and health systems to improve access to care and address the challenges that affect people’s health.

This World Lung Day, we recognize the importance of protecting lung health at every stage of life.

Every Vulnerable Life: Cared. Cured.

23/09/2026

At IRD Pakistan, storytelling is used as a culturally relevant way to make health and social messages more accessible, relatable and meaningful.

Storytelling gives communities a way to listen, relate, ask questions and share their own experiences, across programs as varied as mental health and well-being, tuberculosis, Hepatitis C, sustainable living, menstrual health and hygiene.

In Karachi and Tharparkar, Community Action Group members and community mobilizers are using storytelling to open conversations around sensitive issues, particularly where written Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials fall short.

Sometimes, a story is more than a message. It can be the beginning of a conversation, the opening of a difficult discussion, and the first step towards change.

21/09/2026

The IRD team recently met with the Director General (DG) Health Sindh to align vision and action for accessible, high-quality healthcare across the province. Our shared objective is clear: step up support for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) while bringing direct, essential services to communities that need them most.

Through this vital partnership with the Sindh Government, we are combining forces to strengthen critical healthcare initiatives. This includes promoting routine childhood immunizations, providing maternal health counseling by highlighting the importance of Antenatal Care (ANC) for expectant mothers and Postnatal Care (PNC) and supporting psychological well-being for new mothers as well. To bridge the geographic divide, we are expanding service delivery through the IRD Mobile Health Platform to take these essential programs directly into remote, hard-to-reach, and underserved areas across Sindh.

Strong public-private collaborations build resilient health systems, and together, we are ensuring that distance is never a barrier to quality healthcare.

Together for health equality.

Address

9 Raffles Place, #18-21 Republic Plaza
Singapore
048619

Website

http://www.ird.global/

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