As Head of the OECD Health Division, Francesca Colombo (M.Sc) oversees OECD work on health, which aims at providing internationally comparable data on health and health systems, and at applying economic analysis to health policies, advising policy makers, stakeholders and citizens on how to respond to demands for more and better health.

Main activities of the Division she manages cover: health spending trends; measuring of health care outcomes, activities and inputs; health care quality policies; assessing of health system efficiency and value for money; long-term care systems and ageing; the economics of public health; pharmaceutical policies and new technologies; and health workforce. Major publications resulting from the work of the Division include Health at a Glance, Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use, Making Mental Health Count, Health Data Governance, and many others (http://www.oecd.org/health).

Mrs Colombo has over 20 years of experience leading international activities on health and health systems. She led among others projects on quality of health care policies, health financing and the impact of private health insurance on health systems, health workforce and the international migration of doctors and nurses. She has been responsible for OECD Asian Social and Health activities, working with the OECD/Korea Policy Centre.

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.