Sarah Bolongaita's doctoral research focuses on equity in the distribution of health and financial risk protection within countries, with the aim of identifying segments of the population that are overlooked or left behind. She applies simulation modeling, distributional cost-effectiveness analysis, and benefit-cost analysis to evaluate the equity and effectiveness of health systems, with particular emphasis on developing methods suited to data-limited settings.

Sarah recently served as a Commissioner on The Lancet’s Third Commission on Investing in Health (Global Health 2050), where she led analyses of global health trends, the demographic and economic impacts of premature mortality, and strategic health investment priorities. She has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed publications, with work appearing in Nature Medicine, BMJ Global Health, BMC Medicine, and Value in Health, among others.

In addition to her academic work, Sarah is a consultant with the World Bank’s Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, where she works primarily in the Europe and Central Asia region. Her portfolio focuses on health financing, service delivery reform, and priority setting in the context of demographic change, population aging, and rising noncommunicable disease burdens. As health economics technical lead for the Moldova health portfolio, she works directly with the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Company to co-design reforms to payment systems, benefit package structures, and institutional mechanisms for health technology assessment. Her work also informs regional strategies on addressing noncommunicable diseases, and she has co-led joint research with the World Health Organization on antimicrobial resistance.

Prior to her doctoral studies, Sarah held research and technical roles at Harvard University and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She holds an MSc in Global Health and Population from Harvard University and a BSc in International Health from Georgetown University.

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.