The Economics of Health for All: Taking Action | WHA79 Official Side Event

Co-organized with the Government of Colombia, Medicus Mundi International, Oxfam, Public Service International (PSI), UN University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), World Council of Churches (WCC)

📆 Tuesday 19 May

🕠 18.00 -19.30 CEST

📍Salle C, WHO Headquarters, Geneva and online 

🥙 Food provided

Watch the recording

Background

Economic policies are fundamental, yet often overlooked, determinants of population health. They shape the social and commercial determinants of health, influence the distribution of health risks and outcomes, and determine both the resources available to health systems and the way those systems are organized. Crucially, economic justice is foundational to realizing the Alma-Ata Declaration’s vision of “Health for All.” Without addressing structural economic inequities on a global scale, efforts to expand access to care or strengthen health systems will remain fragmented and uneven.

The WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All reinforces this imperative, calling for a paradigm shift in how economies are structured and governed. Its landmark report argues that traditional approaches focused narrowly on “fixing market failures” are insufficient to confront today’s interconnected health, social, and environmental crises. Instead, it advocates for reorienting economic systems to prioritize health, equity, and well-being as core societal objectives rather than byproducts of growth.

 

Recap

The session sought to build on the work of The WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All and draw specific attention to the inequity of global financial structures and institutions that are misaligned with health equity goals.

Among the issues highlighted in the conversation:

  •          The centrality of political and economic interventions and reforms to address unfair debt burdens, the extraction of wealth from many LMICs through corporate tax abuse and illicit financial outflows and inequitable access to credit

  •        The importance of accountable public sector stewardship over economies and economic institutions

  •        The need for public health actors and health professional groups to engage in the social determinants of health as well as the social determinants of good governance and trust in institutions.

For more background information, please see our policy brief and a piece of reflection published by the Third World Network.

 

Speakers

  • Dr. Revati Phalkey Director, UNU-IIGH

  • Prof. Mariana Mazzucato, Chair of the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All

  • Dr. Kalipso Chalkidou, Director, Performance, Financing and Delivery, World Health Organization

  • Els Torreele, Former Consultant attached to the Council on the Economics of Health for All

  • Baba Aye, Co-Chair of the Geneva Global Health Hub, Health and Social Sector Officer, Public Services International

  • Prof. David McCoy, Research Lead on Power & Accountability, UNU-IIGH

  • Dr. Velásquez Arango, Deputy Permanent Representative of Colombia to the UN in Geneva

  • Dr. Aquina Thulare, Technical Advisor on National Health Insurance (NHI), National Department of Health, South Africa

  • Dr. Heli Hätönen, Senior Ministerial Advisor at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland

  • Dr. Kerstin Vesna Petrič, Head of the Office for Cooperation with WHO, Ministry of Health, Slovenia

  • Moderated by Nicoletta Dentico, Co-Chair of the Geneva Global Health Hub, Director of the Global Health Justice Programme at Society for International Development