Investing in health: why, what, and three reflections

Abstract

When Dean Jamison proposed in 2012 that he and Lawrence Summers should reprise their work on investing in health—their 1993 World Development Report (WDR) 1 The World BankWorld development report 1993: investing in health. World Bank and Oxford University Press, Washington, DC1993 Crossref Google Scholar remains the only World Bank annual publication dedicated to health—it seemed a huge and daunting task. WDR 1993, as it came to be known, is surrounded in global health mythology. For some, it was a milestone in making the case for health to heads of state and finance ministers. For others, it opened the door to private sector colonisation of health care, a door that, once opened, could never be closed again. Whatever one's view, it is uncontroversial to say that WDR 1993 was a landmark document in health. Its 20-year anniversary deserves reflection. Global health 2035: a world converging within a generationPrompted by the 20th anniversary of the 1993 World Development Report, a Lancet Commission revisited the case for investment in health and developed a new investment framework to achieve dramatic health gains by 2035. Our report has four key messages, each accompanied by opportunities for action by national governments of low-income and middle-income countries and by the international community. Full-Text PDF Reinvesting in health post-2015During the past few years we have jointly forged a strong case for health and its links to sustainable development in the post-2015 agenda, with an overarching goal that seeks to maximise health at all stages of life, and with universal health coverage and access as the key means to its achievement. We have acknowledged the need to accelerate progress on the current Millennium Development Goals; to broaden the agenda to encompass non-communicable diseases; and to give more prominence to sexual and reproductive health, with particular emphasis on the health of adolescents. Full-Text PDF Time for even greater ambition in global healthEvery so often, significant global trends can be traced back to a source. The 1993 World Development Report (WDR)1 was such a catalyst in global health and development policy, demonstrating to finance ministers, economists, and philanthropists that health is an investment with positive economic returns—and not simply a drain on scarce resources. The report helped set the stage for a major scale-up of health investments at global, regional, and national levels. Full-Text PDF Investing in health: progress but hard choices remainThe world has changed radically since the World Development Report (WDR) Investing in Health1 was published 20 years ago, so it is valuable and timely to look ahead once again. The Lancet Commission's optimistic report on investing in health2 confirms my view that the best times for public health are still ahead of us. Full-Text PDF Towards a more robust investment framework for healthOn the 20th anniversary of the 1993 World Development Report (WDR),1 the report of the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health reaffirms that investing in health is a strategic investment with enormous economic returns.2 In recognition of the intrinsic value of health, the Commission used a “full income” approach to demonstrate an even higher total return from health investments than previously calculated. Measuring economic and intrinsic values together clearly shows that investments in health are investments in human development—in enlarging people's choices, freedoms, and capabilities to lead lives they value. Full-Text PDF A grand convergence and a historic opportunityThe 1993 World Development Report (WDR)1 was a landmark publication: it put health squarely on the radar as a mainstream development opportunity. WDR 1993 made the important linkage between health gains and economic development, and it did so with arguments, metrics, and an audience that would have a substantial impact on how the world's decision makers prioritised and financed health. Full-Text PDF Dean Jamison: putting economics at the heart of global healthDean Jamison, health economist, Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington in Seattle, and co-chair of the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health, chuckles when I ask him about the need for a new Commission 20 years after the World Bank's seminal 1993 World Development Report (WDR), Investing in Health, which he led. “It has been a fun project to work on again, given the enormous change in the landscape of global health in the past 20 years”, he remarks. “Health conditions have improved more than we thought possible 20 years ago. Full-Text PDF