On May 16th, the World Health Organization published a report entitled “Saving Lives, Spending Less: A strategic response to non-communicable diseases”. It seeks to show that for every dollar invested in health, there will be a benefit of seven dollars in other areas. At the same time, it emphasizes that it will be possible to reduce premature mortality by 15% by 2030 and save 350 billion dollars. The quantification of profits encourages finance ministers to invest in the prevention, detection and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The main findings of the report show that if governments invest in measures to address NCDs, labor force participation and productivity would be improved and families would be protected from unexpected health costs due to NCDs, increasing the capacity to generate income. Thus, investment in Health would not only save lives, but also improve the economic and social position of low- and middle-income countries. Among the most effective measures to achieve this profitability, WHO has highlighted the medication administration and the detection of cervical cancer in people aged 30-49.

The report comes at a key moment, as negotiations for the outcome of the third United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs will begin in mid-June. It is expected that this report will be included in the measures that will be discussed on September 27th, and, consequently, promote the state investment in health policies.