Samral Idrees
Research Fellow
Samral Idrees is a Health Economist with a European master’s in health economics and management from the University of Oslo, Erasmus University Rotterdam, MCI Management Center Innsbruck, and the University of Bologna, completed in 2020. She was awarded the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Joint master’s degree (EMJMD) Scholarship in 2018.
Samral's expertise lies in economic evaluation in healthcare, significantly contributing to decision-making and policy formulation. Her research interests span cost-effectiveness analyses, health technology assessment, women empowerment, mental health, gender-based violence (GBV), and the health of adolescents and women.
Recently, Samral managed data for a project evaluating the mental health of healthcare workers at Aga Khan University, Pakistan, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Her previous work emphasized men’s engagement and women’s empowerment (MEWE) in rural and underserved communities, in partnership with Pakistan’s largest social safety network, the Benazir Income Support Program. This collaboration aimed to reduce GBV, enhance women’s empowerment, and improve maternal mental health. Additionally, she worked with the London School of Economics to evaluate the economic impact of the MEWE intervention, focusing on its cost-effectiveness and potential for national-scale implementation. She has also collaborated with Oslo University Hospital in Norway on survival and cost analyses of a rare lung disease.
Samral is embarking on a new journey as a Research Fellow at BMI. She aims to leverage her extensive academic and practical experience to advance healthcare access and mental health outcomes. With a strong background in health economics and public health, Samral is dedicated to impactful research and social change, particularly in the mental health field.
