The Health-Wealth-Nexus: recoupling health, social and economic wellbeing

Good health is an essential element to overall well-being. However, we consistently observe disconnect and misalignment in economic, health and social policy debates; economic policy is often seen pulling in the opposite direction from health policy. The ongoing pandemic has laid bare the challenges and shed new light on the inextricable connection between health, wealth, and social protection. While policies to control pandemic ran counter to policies to revive economies to a large extent, at the same time nations that have most successfully invested on their citizens’ healthcare and social protection have been those that appear to have fared the best economically.

The session will shed light on how the framework of policy making can be recalibrated, so that health policy and economic policy in combination with social protection are understood as complementary instruments for promoting human wellbeing within the planetary boundaries. What is the role of governments and public-private partnerships in advancing a shift in approach from ‘disease or sickness care’ to genuine ‘health and social care’? How should the global economy, and businesses within it, contribute to resilient health systems? The panel will discuss how global governance address health as a global public good benefitting everyone and how health and social investments can be the vehicle to drive economic prosperity.