FRANCESCA COLOMBO, M.Sc., Head of the Health Division at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, leads OECD work on health, which provides internationally comparable data on health and health systems and applies economic analysis to health policies, advising policy makers, stakeholders and citizens on how to respond to demands for more and better healthcare and make health systems more resilient and people centred.
Mrs Colombo is a leading international expert on health and care issues for elderly populations and also held responsibilities for co-ordinating OECD involvement at high-level meetings such as on diabetes, dementia and health workforce.
Prior to joining OECD in 1999, she was seconded to the Ministry of Health and Labour of Guyana as Acting Head of the Planning Unit, where she was instrumental to the implementation of financing and governance reforms of the health system, and also worked at UNCTAD. Over her career, she has travelled extensively in Europe, South America and Asia, advising governments on health system policies and reforms.