| No images? Click here  WHO Director-General's opening remarks at panel discussion on the intersection of health and economics, London School of Economics – 17 March 2021
Thank you so much, Baroness Minouche, and thank you for hosting this event today, it’s an honour to join you. Professor Mariana Mazzucato, Dr Clare Wenham, Distinguished guests, dear colleagues and friends, Thank you all for joining us today for this very important conversation. I don’t need to tell you that COVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis that has shaken the foundations of social, political and economic security. The pandemic has exposed and exploited the gaps in our health systems and the inequalities of our societies. It has overwhelmed health systems in even the world’s strongest economies. In some public debate, the response to the pandemic has been framed as a choice between health and the economy. But that’s a false choice. We do not have to choose between lives and livelihoods. They always go together. For years, WHO has been trying to make the economic case for investing in health. The pandemic has made the case all too clearly: health and the economy, development and stability, are integrated and inter-dependent. When people are healthy, they can learn, earn and innovate. When people are sick, the whole of society suffers. A major health emergency can derail a society and an economy. People and communities who are already vulnerable suffer the most. But investments in health systems don’t just prevent damage, they can also boost the economy. For example, the UN Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth has projected the creation of about 40 million new health sector jobs by 2030 globally. This is critical for health, but also means that more people will receive a regular salary. And because women make up 70% of the global health workforce, jobs for health workers are also an investment in gender equality. However, not all investments in health are created equal, and how countries finance health can also have implications beyond the health sector. For example, linking health insurance to employment can cause significant inequalities in societies with a large informal sector, or when a sudden economic downturn causes job losses, as we have seen with COVID-19. But the economics of health go far beyond the health system itself. In fact, the most cost-effective investments in health are those that prevent or delay people needing to use the health system, by addressing the reasons people get sick and die – in the food they eat, the water they drink, the air they breathe, and the conditions in which they live and work. Countries spend billions treating lung cancer instead of stopping the scourge of tobacco; Treating obesity, diabetes and heart disease instead of promoting healthy diets; Treating injuries instead of making roads safer; Treating depression instead of promoting mental health; And responding to outbreaks instead of investing in preparedness. We need to make different choices. Addressing the key public health challenges of today and the coming years requires that we reach beyond the health sector to tackle the social, economic and commercial determinants of health. We know, for example, that taxes on tobacco help to reduce consumption, and similar approaches are needed to address the health effects of alcohol, sugar and fossil fuels. So, we don’t just need more investment in public health. We must also rethink how we value health. The time has come for a new narrative that sees health and health systems not as costs, but investments that are the foundation of productive, resilient and stable economies. And we need to elevate health as a social goal, making it a core objective of economic policies. That is why WHO is establishing a new Council on the Economics of Health for All, chaired by Professor Mariana Mazzucato, to focus on the links between health and sustainable, inclusive and innovation-led economic growth. So thank you, Mariana, for agreeing to Chair the council, and I look forward to our work together. My friends, your partnership is essential, not only for defeating this pandemic, but for building the healthier, safer and fairer world we all want. I thank you.  Media contacts:  You are receiving this NO-REPLY email because you are included on a WHO mail list.  |
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
WHO Director-General's opening remarks at panel discussion on the intersection of health and economics, London School of Economics – 17 March 2021
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