Legal and policy advisory in global health.
A limited number of engagements each year with governments, UN agencies, foundations, and research institutions — typically where a legal question sits between international obligation and domestic implementation.
Areas
Each reflects work delivered — drafted, negotiated, or litigated — rather than general expertise.
Pandemic & health emergency law
Legal preparedness assessments, implementation of the 2024 IHR amendments and the WHO Pandemic Agreement including the PABS annex, emergency powers frameworks, and national focal point arrangements.
Legislative & regulatory drafting
Drafting and reviewing public health statutes, regulations, and national policy instruments. Previous work includes Timor-Leste's national alcohol control bill for WHO, Bhutan's NCD multisectoral action plan, and model alcohol control legislation for India.
Access to health products
Technology transfer, intellectual property flexibilities, procurement and liability arrangements, no-fault vaccine injury compensation schemes, and equitable access review of development and funding agreements.
NCD & risk factor regulation
Alcohol, tobacco, and food environment regulation, including digital and AI-driven marketing. Commercial determinants of health analysis with a South and South-East Asia focus.
One Health legal preparedness
Cross-sectoral frameworks linking human, animal, and environmental health governance, and country-level implementation of One Health commitments.
Health litigation & regulatory counsel
Health rights litigation strategy in India, and counsel to hospitals, health startups, and public agencies on regulatory compliance, medical negligence, and health data governance.
How engagements usually work
Scoping. Most useful engagements start with a short conversation about what decision the work needs to inform. A legal landscape review that no one acts on is a waste of everyone's budget; I would rather narrow the question first.
Formats. Discrete deliverables work best — a legal review, a drafted bill, a technical brief, a comparative assessment. I also take on retained advisory roles, secretariat functions for working groups, and expert participation in consultations.
Team. For larger comparative work I assemble and lead research teams, as on the 47-country WHO African Region assessment and the COVID-19 Law Lab.
Conflicts. I hold roles at Georgetown, the WHO roster, and the Indian bar, and screen every engagement for conflicts before accepting. I do not act for tobacco, alcohol, or ultra-processed food interests.
Tell me what decision the work needs to inform. If I'm not the right person, I usually know who is.
Selected engagements
A sample of previous work, drawn from public and published projects.
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National alcohol control legislationDrafted comprehensive national legislation to reduce the harmful use of alcohol; supported ministries and stakeholders in implementing the national policy framework; prepared a technical brief on alcohol taxation and pricing.
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Public health laws and Universal Health Coverage, WHO African RegionCo-PI on an assessment of legal frameworks across 47 countries covering revenues for health, benefit packages, insurance, price regulation, quality of care, regulatory authorities, stakeholder participation, legal identity, health information privacy, emergency preparedness, and telemedicine.
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Equitable access review of vaccine development agreementsCo-PI on the review of CEPI's Chikungunya development and funding agreements, following an earlier review of its COVID-19 vaccine development agreements.
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NCD policy and legislationLed the legal team developing Bhutan's Multisectoral Action Plan II for the prevention and control of NCDs. Developed a national alcohol control policy for India, drafted model legislation, and proposed amendments to national statutes.
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COVID-19 Law LabDeveloped the COVID-19 Law Lab database in coordination with WHO, UNDP, UNAIDS and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and led a multi-country review of legal responses to the pandemic informed by UNDP's human rights review guidance.
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Pathogen genomic surveillance governance in IndiaIn-depth legal and policy review of the governance of pathogen genomic surveillance and data sharing, including expert interviews.
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Marketing of unhealthy food to childrenPrincipal investigator on a legal landscape review of laws and regulations addressing the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children and adolescents in India, examining how legal frameworks protect children from commercial determinants of health.
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Institutional legal statusAdvised Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance on its assimilation to an international organisation, analysing its legal status as a public-private partnership and its relationships with state and non-state actors.
Institutions I have provided legal technical assistance to include the World Health Organization, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNICEF, CEPI, Gavi, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Duke-NUS, the Public Health Foundation of India, HRIDAY, and the Centre for International Trade and Economic Laws.
Have a question that needs a legal answer?
Tell me what decision the work needs to inform and roughly when you need it.