Must-Read: Larry Summers: The Importance of Global Health Investment

Must-Read: Larry Summers: The Importance of Global Health Investment: “I am proudest of… the idea… that the [World Bank should devote its… World Development Report to making the case for… global health investment. The 1993 report produced by a team led by Dean Jamison proved more influential than I could have hoped, not least because it drew Bill Gates into the global health arena… [and] made a strong case that the benefits of the right health investments far exceed the costs…. The dramatic declines in child mortality and increases in life expectancy demonstrate that policy can make an immense difference….

Our generation has the opportunity to achieve a ‘grand convergence’ in global health reducing preventable maternal, child, and infectious diseases to universally low levels by 2035… benefits that exceeded their costs by a factor of 10… would require commitments to health system reform and… resources that go well beyond what is in place…. I was therefore excited when the Rockefeller Foundation asked me to work with them to develop a Declaration that a broad spectrum of economists could issue underscoring the importance of global health efforts. The 266 economists who have joined our declaration come from 44 countries and at least as many political and ideological perspectives…. Our Declaration was published in the LANCET last week and is summarized in a full page New York Times ad that is running today. I hope the world listens…