Maryam Ali Ansari, currently serve as Chief of Strategic Planning at the Supreme Council of Health in the Kingdom of Bahrain. In addition, she plays the role of Program Manager of the Autonomy of both Public Hospitals and Primary care Health Centers under the National Social Health Insurance Program in the Kingdom of Bahrain. She is also a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. With over eight years of experience in health system reform, she has been actively involved in strategic planning, policy development, and advancing health sector transformation aligned with Bahrain’s national vision.
Role as JLN Institutional Coordinator and contributions
As the JLN Institutional Coordinator for Bahrain, her role focuses on facilitating engagement between national stakeholders and the Joint Learning Network community, ensuring active participation in collaborative activities and alignment with Bahrain’s priorities in advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC). A key contribution has been supporting Bahrain’s active engagement in JLN initiatives. This includes Bahrain hosting the Climate Collaboration last year, where I was part of the organizing committee. She contributed to coordinating sessions, arranging site visits, and incorporating Bahrain’s experiences and inputs into the discussions on climate and health.In addition, she participated in the Health Emergency Preparedness initiative in Jakarta, contributing to finalizing a JLN knowledge product, ensuring that Bahrain’s experiences and practices were reflected as part of the collective learning from member countries. These engagements have helped strengthen Bahrain’s role as an active contributor to the JLN community.
Key lessons and best practices
One key lesson from my experience is the importance of proactive coordination and stakeholder engagement to sustain momentum within collaborative platforms like JLN. Clear communication, defined roles, and continuous follow-up are essential to ensure meaningful participation. Participating in the Health Emergency Preparedness sessions in Jakarta provided additional valuable lessons. Exposure to the experiences of multiple countries, interaction with professionals from diverse cultural and technical backgrounds, and networking across different fields were extremely beneficial. These interactions allowed her to gain insights into effective decision-making tools and approaches that can be adapted to Bahrain’s context, while also fostering cross-country learning and collaboration.
Another important lesson is the value of contextualizing global best practices—adapting insights from other countries to fit national priorities and system structures is critical for successful implementation.
Memorable moment / success story / key challenge
A particularly memorable experience was Bahrain hosting the JLN Climate Collaboration. Being part of the organizing committee and contributing to shaping the sessions and site visits was a rewarding opportunity to showcase Bahrain’s progress and facilitate cross-country knowledge exchange. Another highlight was contributing to the finalization of a knowledge product during the Health Emergency Preparedness engagement in Jakarta, which reflected the shared experiences of multiple countries, including Bahrain. A key challenge has been maintaining consistent engagement across stakeholders with competing priorities; however, this has also strengthened our coordination mechanisms and reinforced the importance of structured and sustained engagement.
Aspirations and expectations from the CCG CoP
Looking ahead, she aspires for the CCG Community of Practice to continue evolving as a dynamic platform for practical knowledge exchange and innovation. She hopes to see deeper collaboration, more tailored technical support, and enhanced opportunities to translate shared knowledge into measurable country-level impact.
Bahrain, looks forward to further leveraging the CCG CoP to advance our UHC journey and strengthen the sustainability and efficiency of our health system.
