Abdo Yazbeck is a Lead Health Economist and holds a Ph.D. in Economics with a focus on Health and Labor. His most recent assignment was as a Health Practice Manager for Eastern and Southern Africa and before that as Sector Manager in Europe and Central Asia. Prior to that, he was the Program Leader at World Bank Institute's Health and AIDS Team for 5 years and worked for 7 years in South Asia operations as a Senior health economist. Abdo also worked as a Senior Health Economist in the private sector focusing on Africa, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union after being part of the World Development Report 1993: Investing in Health Team and teaching economics at Rice University and Texas A&M University. He has authored/edited seven books, including “Africa’s Demographic Transition: Dividend or Disaster,” "Better Health Systems for India's Poor," "Learning from Economic Downturns" and “Attacking Inequality in the Health Sector.”