dr. IEJ (Igna) Bonfrer

Biography

Dr. Igna Bonfrer is Associate Professor of Global Health Economics at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management.

Together with a brilliant team including PhD candidates from India, Peru, Uganda, Zambia and the Netherlands, I aim to do impactful research and provide some of the knowledge base necessary to improve health care systems across low- and middle-income countries. I am particularly interested in health care financing and have studied this while at the University of Oxford, Erasmus University Rotterdam and during my postdoc at Harvard University. 

My work has been published in among others The British Medical Journal, Health Affairs, Social Science & Medicine and PLOS Global Public Health. An overview of my publications can be found on Google Scholar.

I try to create a supportive and friendly environment for outstanding impactful research and received the "Best PhD Supervisor Award 2024".

I coordinate both the BSc course Global Challenges in Health & Behaviour and the MSc course Global Health Economics (average student evaluation 4.5 out of 5). Topics include “causal evaluation of health care financing reforms”, “decolonizing global health” and “making a career in global health”.

I am Director of the Rotterdam Global Health Initiative, the multi-disciplinary global health research and education network of the Erasmus University Rotterdam and those who have sought our expertise on health and health care in low- and middle-income countries, with 250+ members. www.eur.nl/en/rghi

I have been asked to share my expertise with the World Health Organization and several NGOs. 

I serve as Academic Editor for PLOS Global Public Health.

I did my post-doc with the Harvard Global Health Institute.

I received research funding from various competitive sources including the Rubicon Fellowship from the Dutch Research Council, World Health Organization, the EU's Marie Curie CoFund, and the Erasmus Trustfund. I was honoured with the Nautilus Award for outstanding contribution from the University of Oxford and with the Prof. H.W. Lambers Prize from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

An illustration of our earlier work for pregnant women in India: https://youtu.be/0bBNsm6t3Tc

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management

Associate professor | Health Economics (HE)
Email
bonfrer@eshpm.eur.nl

Work

  • Igna Bonfrer (30 November 2020) - BNR
  • Igna Bonfrer (22 October 2020) - BNR
  • Igna Bonfrer (16 October 2020) - BNR
  • Igna Bonfrer (4 January 2018) - The Impact of Financial Incentives on Early and Late Adopters among U.S. Hospitals

  • Igna Bonfrer (2025) - Best PhD Supervisor 2024
  • Igna Bonfrer (2016) - Travel Fellowship Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Igna Bonfrer (2015) - Rubicon Fellowship
  • Igna Bonfrer (2008) - Wellcome Trust Quota Award for Masters in History of Medicine

Hofdijckschool

Start date approval
August 2024
End date approval
August 2027
Place
OEGSTGEEST
Description
Bestuurslid Onderwijszaken op basisschool

PLoS Global Public Health

Start date approval
September 2025
End date approval
August 2028
Place
CALIFORNIA
Description
Academic Editor

Global Health Economics

Year Level
master, master, master, master
Year
2025
Course Code
GW4582M

Health and Economic Development

Year Level
master, master, master, master
Year
2025
Course Code
GW4584M

Academic Development & Skills

Level
bachelor 1
Year Level
bachelor 1
Year
2025
Course Code
GWAVV-25

ESHPM HEPL-HE

Year
2025
Course Code
GWMTTHEPL

Master Thesis HEPL

Level
master
Year Level
master
Year
2025
Course Code
GW4555M

Master Thesis HE

Year Level
master, master
Year
2025
Course Code
GW4592M

Director Rotterdam Global Health Initiative

Start date approval
January 2021

News regarding dr. IEJ (Igna) Bonfrer

GROW forest retreat unites over 50 African PhD researchers and Dutch supervisors

The GROW retreat offered an opportunity for researchers and supervisors to collaborate on more equitable, grounded, and policy-relevant global health research
Tree landscape

RGHI Member in the Spotlight: Ninza Mwenesongole-van Houte

Interview with Ninza Mwenesongole-van Houte, PhD candidate at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, about her recent research.
Portret of Ninza Mwenesongole-van Houte

Building Bridges in Global Health: New Collaboration Between UNS Indonesia and ESHPM

On February 14, 2025, a new collaboration between UNS Indonesia and ESHPM was formed: apromising step toward strengthening global health collaboration.
Meeting RGHI with Prof.Dr. Ari Natalia Probandari and Dr. Vitri Widyaningsih.

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