Publisher's Synopsis
In response to the need to place health at the centre of the development agenda, The Director-General of the WHO appointed in January 2000, a Commission on Macroeconomics and Health consisting of a group of leading economists and health experts. The Commission's findings are presented in this report, which describes a strategy for investing in health for economic development, especially in the world's poorest countries. Proposing a new global partnership of developing and developed countries, the report states that timely and bold action could save around eight million lives each year in developing countries by the end of 2010 from infectious diseases and maternal conditions. Also the lifespans, productivity, and economic well-being of the poor could be extended. Such outcomes would, however, require two important initiatives: a significant scaling-up of the resources currently spent on the health sector by developing countries and donors alike; and tackling the non-financial obstacles that have limited the capacity of poor countries to deliver health services.;In the report, the experts argue that the linkages of health to poverty reduction and economic growth are much more powerful than has been generally understood. The report presents more scientific evidence than ever before to support the argument that health is critical to economic development in poor countries. Disease blocks economic growth. And a previously held argument - that health will automatically improve as a result of economic growth, is not supported by the evidence. Diseases will not go away without specific investments in health interventions. Yet, the resources - human, scientific and financial - exist to succeed, but now must be mobilized.;The Commissioner's report also outlines a new global framework for access to life-saving medicines that includes norms on differential pricing schemes, broader licensing and bulk purchase agreements. It also stresses that disease breeds instability and that rich countries are likely to benefit through greater political and social stability in the poor countries, by helping to control the diseases of the poor. Since only a few conditions account for most of the health deficit, a few steps could save millions of lives. Effective interventions for the prevention and control of these conditions already exist, and large reductions in mortality and morbidity can be achieved almost anywhere, even in war zones, if financial resources are adequate.;The report concludes that proposed investment in global health would equate to at least 180 million US dollars in direct economic benefits of extended healthy lifespan as of 2015-2020, and roughly the same amount due to faster economic growth, for a total economic gain of at least 360 billion dollars.
