Dr. Watabe joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in May 2023 as a health specialist. He primarily focuses on technical assistance and projects in the area of health financing for universal health coverage (UHC), digital health financing, health impact investment, and climate change and health investment.
Prior to joining ADB, Dr. Watabe was a program manager of the International Health Partnership for UHC 2030 (UHC2030), a multi-stakeholder partnership for UHC, co-hosted by WHO, World Bank, and OECD. He led the partnership's advocacy, accountability, and knowledge management work, such as the UN High-level Meeting on UHC, UHC Day, and the State of UHC Commitment review. He provided technical advice to the UHC Movement Political Advisory Panel, a group of prominent high-level champions of UHC. He also contributed to the organization of WHO’s Advance Courses and eLearning programs on Health Financing for UHC.
Dr. Watabe started his professional career as a medical doctor in Japan and a public health physician in the Republic of Vanuatu. He was also a health diplomat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, to serve Prime Minister Abe in his flagship initiative on UHC before starting his career in the United Nations.
Dr. Watabe holds a medical license (Social Medicine) and a PhD, with an MSc in Health Policy, Planning, and Financing from LSHTM/LSE and an Executive Master in Change (EMC) from INSEAD.