Health changes the value of everything

Health is not only a matter for hospitals or health budgets. It changes the value of everything else, says Professor Andreja Jaklič of the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Social Sciences.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed that health also forms part of critical infrastructure, Jaklič said. That means governments should place it at the center of fiscal, agricultural and foreign-trade policy, rather than addressing it only through measures such as alcohol or sugar taxation.

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Health is the only wealth that you cannot borrow, acquire, inherit or buy back if you lose it.

“Health is the greatest wealth,” Jaklič said, because it shapes how people feel, live, learn, create, work and connect with other resources. Most of the causes and consequences of good or poor health occur outside the healthcare system. Income, education, lifestyle, workplaces, diet and physical activity influence population health more than healthcare alone, although medical care remains important when people become ill.

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Health is the greatest wealth.

The economic effects also extend beyond treatment costs. Health influences productivity, creativity, educational outcomes, willingness to work, innovation, family life and demographic trends. Jaklič said healthier populations, rather than simply higher spending on treating illness, would make countries richer and more developed.

She argued that health should serve as a foundation for economic development and competitiveness. Governments need to understand the many regional and institutional mechanisms linking health with investment, productivity, education and human-capital development. A healthy, active population and a strong healthcare system can both signal that a country is ready for investment.

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We will be richer and more developed with healthier people and fewer illnesses, not merely with high spending on treating diseases.