The health and economic case for investing in prevention: health and wealth are inextricably linked

In 2019, G20 citizens aged 50 and over collectively lived 118 million years with disabilities due to largely preventable diseases. That’s 118 million years where national economies might have benefited from additional care, volunteering, and paid work. Preventable conditions cost G20 economies $1.02 trillion in productivity losses each year, in the 50 to 64 age bracket alone. This is roughly equivalent to the estimated loss in global worker income for the first half of 2021 as a result of COVID-19.

Prevention isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ that can be eclipsed by more urgent matters. Investment in preventative health should be a priority for leaders across the G20. It will generate substantial long-term returns, contribute to a more stable and resilient workforce, and support the transition to more ‘top-down’ societies, where the number of older people is the same – or more – than people younger than 65.

With the creation of the G20 joint Health-Finance Task Force, we know that perceptions are around health and wealth are already shifting. But continued engagement with health and finance ministers will be important for increasing investment in healthy ageing. For instance, immunisation has immediate health benefits and is well understood as an effective preventative measure. Yet many countries spend less than 10% of their preventative healthcare budgets on immunisation programmes, with most of that spending on childhood vaccination. This is to the detriment of life course immunisation programmes that could save millions of lives each year across the G20.

The ILC’s work on the Healthy Ageing and Prevention Index is made possible by charitable support and grants from Amgen, GSK, Hallmark Foundation, MSD, Pfizer and Sanofi.