Dr. Patrick L. Osewe is a leading global expert on public health and the Director of Health at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He currently leads the application of evidence-based and innovative approaches to address priority and emerging health issues in Asia and the Pacific ¾focusing on the nexus of Universal Health Coverage, pandemic preparedness, education, social protection, climate change and finance. During the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), he provided leadership and guidance in the implementation of ADB’s $20 billion commitment to respond to COVID-19 and $9 billion for Developing Member Countries (DMCs) to obtain and deploy COVID-19 vaccines. His work related to COVID-19 included providing prioritizing investments, technical assistance to operational teams and DMCs, convening global partners to reach consensus on key implementation issues, and mobilizing leading vaccine manufacturers, private sector firms and regulators to support a range of preparedness and response activities throughout the region. He led the G20 climate and health workstream under the India G20 Presidency which culminated in climate and health being endorsed as a priority issue by G20 Ministers of Health and G20 Heads of State. He is collaborating with the leading global experts on climate and health to highlight the impact of climate change on health focusing on advocacy, knowledge, capacity building, partnerships and financing. In addition, Patrick is collaborating with a number of DMCs to establish or strengthen national centers for disease control and other pandemic preparedness and response efforts.
Prior to his time at ADB, Patrick was a Global Lead for the World Bank’s Healthy Societies. In this role, he led a global effort to address universal health coverage and health security, focusing on pandemic preparedness and response, financing, and multi-sectoral collaboration. To accelerate the health security agenda, he was part of the core team that prepared the first strategic plan for the Africa Centers for Disease Control, convened a team of high-level experts¾from government, the World Health Organization (WHO), development agencies, and donors¾to develop a framework and tools for assessing the financing status of pandemic preparedness. He also provided extensive strategic leadership in the design and implementation of health financing and health systems reforms.
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 where he developed a public health framework for Olympics Games. He has a proven track record of bringing countries and multiple sectors together¾including governments, development partners, and the private sector¾to achieve cross-cutting health sector goals.
