Thahira Shireen Mustafa

Thahira Shireen Mustafa is a public health nutritionist specialized in strategy development, political advocacy and evidence-based policy making, and brings with her a unique multistakeholder perspective based on her extensive experience working with various constituencies.

At PMNCH, Thahira coordinates country level engagement and advocacy efforts as part of the COVID-19 Call to Action Campaign. She facilitates regional level advocacy with the view to generating commitments to women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health; and is focused on building relationships with partnerships that work on social, economic and environmental determinants of health.

Prior to this appointment, Thahira managed the infant and young child nutrition portfolio at the WHO and supported Member States in translating global guidance into national policies. Thahira also has a wealth of experience in partnerships and served as Policy Advisor at the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, where she strengthened institutional capacities for stakeholder alignment and mutual accountability in 60+ countries.

Before her multidisciplinary international career, including her work with the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN), UNICEF, the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), she started her journey in India working in patient-centered settings delivering medical nutrition therapy. She holds a master's degree in Clinical Nutrition from Sri Ramachandra University in India, and a master's degree in Public Health Nutrition and Rural Development from Ghent University in Belgium.