Health must be put at the heart of economies, says WHO report

Health and wellbeing must be seen as the ultimate goal of economic activity and be a key priority across all government departments, not just ministries of health, says a major report from the World Health Organization.1

The report, from the WHO council on the economics of health for all, calls for a fundamental overhaul of national and international systems for financing health so that spending on health is treated as a long term investment, not a short term cost.

It sets out a blueprint which places physical and mental wellbeing for all people as a central goal of economies and not just a stepping stone to other objectives. A fundamental rethink of how value in health …