WHO: we know we will face new epidemics

SHAFAQNA TURKEY – The first report of the “Health for All Economics Council”, which was created by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhan Ghebreyesus in 2020 to combat Covid-19 and evaluates the economy in terms of “health for all”, has been published.
Ghebreyesus, who assessed the report at a press conference held at the UN office in Geneva in November 2020, on rethinking and implementing health economic policy, prof. He recalled that he announced the creation of the General Health Economic Council chaired by Mariana Mazzucato.
Ghebreyesus said: “The council, which started its work from the beginning of 2021, has exceeded all expectations due to the quality and volume of work carried out. “The council discussed how best to measure economic development and put forward ideas on how best to fund innovation and build capacity for health for all.”
Touching on several key points in the report, Ghebreyesus noted that the report recommends that the world stop using gross domestic product (GDP) to measure progress, noting that this calculation does not take into account the large resources that go into unpaid work that often underlies economic and social activities.
“The report calls for funding to ensure adequate and sustainable health in the long term. The Council also notes that innovation works when there are effective partnerships between the public and private sectors.
“There is a huge funding gap for health systems around the world”
Council President Mazzucato said they are working effectively on the Covid-19 process to produce the report.
Emphasizing that while Covid-19 is said to be over, the epidemic is not over due to interconnected crises, Mazzucato said financial, health and climate crises are also linked to the epidemic.
“We know that we will face new epidemics,” Mazzucato said. For example, new viruses will appear as frozen soils melt. Are we better prepared for new viruses (epidemics) than before? (In terms of the world economy) The Council report says no to that. Because we didn’t take everyone’s health seriously and didn’t develop business models,” he said.
Pointing out that governance structures are not designed to include everyone in the health sector, Mazzucato also emphasized that public-private partnerships are not results-oriented.
“There is a huge funding gap for health care systems around the world,” Mazzucato said. We looked at the changes needed to build a health-for-all economy, including the structure of patents, public-private partnerships, and budgets. In our report, we call for a new economic policy that is not about fixing the market, but about actively and collaboratively shaping markets that puts human and global health at the forefront.”
According to the report, achieving health for all requires reinvesting in government capacity, a new health innovation ecosystem that prioritizes common interests, and increased and better quality funding.