Macroeconomics and Health: the Way Forward in the African Region: Report of the Regional Director

Abstract

1. In January 2000, the WHO Director-General established the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH) to study the links between increased investments in health, economic development and poverty reduction. 2. The Commission’s analysis revealed that: (a) ill-health contributes significantly to poverty and low economic growth; (b) a few health conditions account for the high proportion of ill-health and premature deaths; (c) a substantial increase in the use of cost-effective interventions in addressing priority health problems can potentially save millions of lives per year; (d) a close-to-client (CTC) system is required to increase cost-effective interventions targeting the poor; (e) the current level of health spending in Member States is not sufficient to help implement cost-effective interventions. 3. The Commission recommended enhanced political commitment, at both national and international levels, increased investments in close-to-client health systems and greater use of cost-effective interventions in addressing priority national health problems. Given that different Member States face different challenges, this paper suggests generic steps that can be taken to develop investment plans for increasing the use of cost-effective interventions to address priority health and health-related problems.