Kent Buse is a political economist with expertise in policy analysis. He is Professor of Health Policy and Director of Program Development with the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia.
As an academic activist he believes in the democratisation of opportunity and seeks to contribute to the development of a new social contract based on justice, fairness and rights for all. Kent has published widely on rights, gender, equity and governance in health – applying these lenses to a range of urgent global issues.
Kent was the inaugural Director of the Healthier Societies Program at The George Institute for Global Health and retains an honorary appointment at the School of Public Health, Imperial College London. He served as chief of strategy, policy and research at UNAIDS for over a decade and is ex-faculty of Yale University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He serves as the chair of the policy and prevention committee of the World Obesity Federation.
Recent publications:
- Chola, M., Robalo, M., Buse, K., Oduro-Bonsrah, P., Ozoemene, J., Dieng, A., et al. (2026). Africa’s ownership of a sustainable health journey towards an AIDS-free future. BMJ Global Health, 11, Article e018198.
- Buse, K., Chêne, G., & Squires, N. (2026). Health security: why preparedness alone will not keep us safe. The Lancet Public Health, 11, Article e354.
- McKee, M., & Buse, K. (2026). How should the next WHO director general confront the new world order? BMJ, 393, Article e932172.
- Carriedo, A., Labbé, M., Samuels, T. A., et al. (2026). Ultra-processed foods: challenging corporate power and promoting local food systems to reclaim health. Globalization and Health, 22, Article 49.
- Robinson, L., Rajeev, A., Tanaka, S., & Buse, K. (2026). Feminist leadership in global health: moving beyond tokenism. BMJ, 393, Article s778.
- Barquera, S., Carriedo, A., & Buse, K. (2026). Health partnerships risk legitimising harmful industries. BMJ, 393, Article s629.
- Gowers, Z., Li, B., Gómez, S. F., et al. (2026). The role of physical activity in the prevention and management of obesity: A position statement from the World Obesity Federation. Obesity Reviews, 27(7), Article e70103.
- Buse, K., McKee, M., & Pagel, C. (2026). Safeguarding evidence for health in the face of political pressure. BMJ, 393, Article s628.
- Bakelmun, I., & Buse, K. (2026). Beyond disclosure: stop using AI imagery in global health. The Lancet Global Health, 14, Article e332.
- Hawkes, S., Buse, K., & Clark, J., et al. (2026). When the rules are rewritten, strengthen the coalition for gender justice. The Lancet, 407, 929–931.
