COP28 Event: Maximizing Finance for Climate and Health – Joint Development Banks’ Approach

Dr. Tamer Rabie is the Global Program Lead for Climate and Health at the World Bank. He joined the Bank in 2005 and has since been leading lending as well as advisory services programs in more than thirty countries across all regions, including those characterized by fragility, conflict and violence. He has over twenty-five years of wide-ranging policy, public health and health systems experience including in climate change, nutrition, reproductive health, service delivery, governance, the private sector, and environmental health. As a medical doctor and public health specialist, he has always remained acutely aware that addressing global health challenges transcends the confines of healthcare alone and necessitates a comprehensive approach encompassing social, economic, and environmental policies, among others. Having worked on the nexus of climate and health since 2008, he has helped the World Bank shape its vision on climate action. In his current role as the Global Program Lead for Climate and Health, Dr. Rabie leads the World Bank’s efforts in addressing the climate-health crisis by scaling country tailored solutions, delivering global public goods, and forging partnerships with other development partners, the private sector and civil society organizations.  

Ferdinando Regalía is the Manager of the Social Sector (SCL) since 2021. Prior to his appointment, Ferdinando served as the Chief of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Social Protection and Health (SPH) Division where he oversaw IDB support to its borrowing member countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the areas of social protection and health. From 2008 to 2009, Ferdinando served as advisor to the Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge of the IDBG, providing quality oversight of operations as well as of the economic and sector research agenda of the Vice Presidency. In 2007, he served as Chief of Social Policy and Economics at United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in South Africa providing technical assistance on design, financing, and implementation of social protection programs to governments and non-governmental organizations in Southern Africa. Ferdinando holds a PhD in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.

Laura Piovesan is Director General of the Projects Directorate at the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s long-term financing institution headquartered in Luxembourg. Composed of sector specialists, this directorate is responsible for project appraisal (including technical, economic, environmental and social issues) and the monitoring of project implementation, as well as for sector studies and policy – including the EIB’s climate, environmental and social policies. Laura is a graduate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy. Prior to joining the EIB she spent eight years at an Italian engineering company, first as Research Scientist and then as Industrial Economist.

Berglof sets the vision and strategy for the Economics Department and leads the planning, implementation and supervision of its work plan in support of the Bank’s mandate. He is the Bank’s inaugural Chief Economist. Prior to joining AIIB in September 2020, he was Director of the Institute of Global Affairs, London School of Economics, and Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2006 to 2015, where he was part of creating and co-led the Vienna Initiative, a European crisis response team credited with mitigating the impact of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. He is an expert in transition economics and institutional transformation through private sector development. He holds a PhD in Financial Economics and an MA in Business and Economics, both from the Stockholm School of Economics. Berglof is a national of Sweden.

Agnès Soucat is the Director of Health and Social Protection at Agence Française de Développement. Previously, she was the Director for Health Systems Governance and Financing at WHO in Geneva, Switzerland. Before joining WHO, she was the Global Lead Economist at the World Bank and the Director for Human Development for the African Development Bank, where she was responsible for health, education, social protection and employment for Africa, including fifty-four countries in the continent. She has over thirty years of experience in health and poverty reduction, covering more than seventy countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. She is a pioneer of several innovations in health financing, including community-based financing and performance-based financing. Soucat holds an MD and a Master's in Nutrition from the University of Nancy in France, as well as a MPH and PhD in Health Economics from the Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Patrick L. Osewe is a leading global expert on public health and the Director of Health Team at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He currently leads the application of evidence-based and innovative approaches to address priority and emerging human capital issues in Asia and the Pacific ⎯focusing on the nexus of Universal Health Coverage, pandemic preparedness, education, social protection, climate change and finance. Patrick is leading the G20 climate and health workstream under the India G20 Presidency which has led to climate and health being endorsed as a priority issue by G20 Ministers of Health and G20 Leaders. In addition, he is collaborating with the leading global experts on climate and health to highlight the impact of climate change on health. Prior to his time at ADB, Patrick was a Global Lead for the World Bank’s Healthy Societies where he led a global effort to address universal health coverage and health security, focusing on pandemic preparedness and response, financing, and multi-sectoral collaboration. With more than 25 years of experience as a global leader in health, Patrick has previously worked as Senior Health Advisor for USAID in Southern Africa and a Senior Epidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Fadia Saadah is currently the Regional Director for Human Development in Middle East and North Africa Region. Throughout more than 30 years career at the World Bank, she has held various leadership positions, including Regional Director for Human Development in Europe and Central Asia Region, Practice Director of the Global Practice for Health, Nutrition, and Population, and Manager at Operational Policy and Country Services. Dr. Saadah has been instrumental in driving significant modernization and reform efforts at the World Bank. She spearheaded the introduction and implementation of the Program-for-Results, a groundbreaking financing instrument that has had a major impact on how the World Bank operates. With a background in health and human development, Dr. Saadah has developed strategies at both regional and country levels in different regions. She has also led the World Bank's response efforts during health crises such as SAR, Avian Flu and COVID-19. Dr. Saadah holds a Master's degrees in Biostatistics and a PhD in Population Studies from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, and a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Health and Master's degrees in Epidemiology from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

Ms. Boitumelo Mosako is the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). Prior to her appointment, she served as the DBSA Chief Financial Officer (CFO), focusing on strategy, investor relations, supply chain management, and information technology. She is an experienced Chartered Accountant and executive with vast experience in the financial sector, spanning over 22 years. Prior to re-joining the DBSA in 2018, Ms Mosako worked at the South African Bureau of Standards as a CFO. She started her career at Ernst and Young, USA. She broadened her experience in the financial sector by joining Citi Bank as a Corporate Finance Transactor and later the Triumph Venture Capital as Executive Director Finance and Investments focusing on various key business objectives. Ms Mosako holds a Higher Diploma in Auditing, a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting and a BCom Accounting Degree from the University of Cape Town, an Advanced Management Program Certificate from Harvard Business School and a BBBEE Management Development Program Certificate from UNISA.

Farid Fezoua is the Global Director for Health, Education, and Services at the International Finance Corp (IFC), a member of the World Bank and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Based in Washington DC, he is responsible for managing IFC’s investment and advisory services in health and education, tourism, retail, and property, leading a team responsible for an $8.2 billion investment portfolio. Prior to joining IFC, Farid was President and CEO of General Electric Africa, leading GE’s operations in Sub-Saharan Africa, including developing sustainable solutions to strengthening health systems. Farid is a member of the steering committees for the Regionalized Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative and the Impact Investments Initiative (Triple I) for Global Health, and he also sits on the HealthManagement editorial board.