Person:
Gabani, Jacopo

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Last updated:November 17, 2025
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Jacopo Gabani works in the Health Financing Team of the Global Health Unit. In his role, he develops knowledge products and advises countries across various regions and income levels on health and finance policy reforms. Previously, he worked in the Global Financing Facility (GFF) Health Financing team, advising several countries on health resource tracking and health financing reforms, with a focus on primary healthcare and public financial management. Jacopo's career also included positions at various NGOs and the Ministry of Health in Liberia, where he focused on health financing and human resources for health. He started his career at Procter & Gamble, where he also worked on pharmaceutical products. His research has been published in leading journals, and he has shared his expertise teaching “Economics of healthcare systems” at the University of York. Jacopo holds a PhD in Economics from the University of York, an MSc in Public Health from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and an MSc in Business Administration from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. He was a visiting fellow at Harvard School of Public Health.

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    Government Health Spending Trends Through 2023: Peaks, Declines, and Mounting Risks
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-11-08) Kurowski, Christoph; Schmidt, Martin; Kumar, Anurag; Mieses, Julio; Gabani, Jacopo
    This paper presents the most recent trends in government health spending (GHS) across 63 low- and lower-middle-income countries, offering critical insights as nations approach the decisive period for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After the pandemic-induced surge, sustained declines in GHS per capita followed. While these declines might appear to be a logical consolidation, the resulting modest growth in GHS per capita and decreases in health’s share of overall government spending between 2019 and 2023 pose significant challenges to the sustainability of government investment in health—compounded in many countries by contracting or stagnant government expenditure projected through 2029. These shifts cannot be ignored as countries need to restart progress toward Universal Health Coverage and other health-related SDGs after the COVID-19 setback, alongside building resilience to climate change and enhancing pandemic preparedness. Increasing the priority of health in spending is a key policy option, but it will not be sufficient on its own. Effective responses also require improving spending efficiency and addressing broader fiscal challenges. Without decisive action, many countries have little chance of achieving the health SDG.
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    At a Crossroads: Prospects for Government Health Financing Amidst Declining Aid
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-18) Kumar, Anurag; Gabani, Jacopo; Marino, Alberto; Mieses Ramirez, Julio Cesar; Eozenou, Patrick Hoang-Vu
    Investing in health is one of the most powerful drivers of human capital formation, economic growth, and job creation. However, low- and lower-middle-income countries are at a crossroads with growing economic uncertainty and sharp cuts to external aid. This report–part of an annual series–monitors the latest trends and provides an outlook on government and donor health spending in these countries. Government health spending remains well below the minimum needed to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and has stagnated since 2018. Most LICs (80%) and many LMICs (40%) are projected to face a decline in combined government and donor health spending by 2030 as sharp cuts to development assistance for health—projected to decline by around 20%—offset modest growth in government spending. However, countries have policy options to alter their trajectories by spending better and spending more on health under fiscal constraints. Crucially, aid-dependent countries have a reform window to restructure and reshape their health systems in line with domestic priorities as aid dwindles. And it is feasible to raise the share of government spending on health in a third of LICs and LMICs—they have the fiscal space and underprioritize health compared to peers. While the challenge may appear daunting, bold reforms will deliver rapid gains by saving lives, creating jobs, and driving economic growth.