Thread by @WHO

LIVE with @DrTedros, @MazzucatoM & @clarewenham at the @LSEpublicevents on the human and economic value of health in the era of #COVID19 pscp.tv/w/cyCVtjI2MTAy…

"The #COVID19 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"-@DrTedros

"In some public debate, the response to the #COVID19 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"-@DrTedros

"For years, WHO has been trying to make the economic case for investing in health. The #COVID19 pandemic has made the case all too clearly: health and the economy, development and stability, are integrated and interdependent"-@DrTedros

"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"-@DrTedros #COVID19

"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"-@DrTedros

"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 #healthworkers are also an investment in gender equality"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1372158370816401413?s=20

"However, not all investments in health are created equal, and how countries finance health can also have implications beyond the health sector. But the economics of health go far beyond the health system itself"-@DrTedros

"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 & die in:
the food they eat
the 🥤 they drink
the air they breathe
the conditions in which they live & work"-@DrTedros

"Countries spend 💲 treating:
Lung cancer instead of stopping the 🚬 scourge
Obesity, diabetes, ♥️ disease instead of promoting healthy 🥗
🤕 instead of making 🛣️ safer
Depression instead of promoting mental health
Responding to outbreaks instead of 💰 in preparedness"-@DrTedros

"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"-@DrTedros

"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"-@DrTedros

"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"-@DrTedros

"We need to elevate health as a social goal, making it a core objective of economic policies"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1372161188688183296?s=20

"That is why WHO is establishing a new Council on the Economics of Health for All, chaired by Professor @MazzucatoM, to focus on the links between health and sustainable, inclusive and innovation-led economic growth"-@DrTedros

The full remarks by @DrTedros 👇 bit.ly/3cFz43X