UMass Economist Jayati Ghosh Appointed to New World Health Organization Council

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Jayati Ghosh, economics, has been appointed to the newly established Council on the Economics of Health for All at the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Council’s role is to provide independent advice to the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on addressing interrelated health and economic challenges and mapping out a way forward that supports communities and countries to build healthy societies. To do so, it will provide recommendations for a new approach to shape the economy that supports health for all as an overall goal, including more equitable and effective health systems.

The WHO Council aims to reframe health for all, as a global objective, and ensure that national and global economies and finance are structured in such a way to deliver on this ambitious goal. This includes advice on what can be done and practical tools in four important areas: new ways to measure and value health for all, build up public sector capacity to drive transformative change and innovate towards achieving population health goals, and, to ensure financial systems invest in creating health. This requires a transformation in financing for health, not as a cost but a long-term investment for a “healthy society,” grounded in the fundamental truth that health and the economy are interdependent.

“I established this Council precisely to gather leading experts in economics, policy development and health, and to benefit from their knowledge and skill,” said Dr. Tedros. “I urge them to advise on a new way forward that ensures health is at the heart of all government action and investment decisions. We must value and invest in health as our most important commodity.”

The Council held its inaugural meeting May 6, kick-starting a robust and wide-ranging process to gather insights and develop actionable plans and forward looking practices built on real-world examples and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patron of the Council, H.E. Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, said the new body will provide strong support to WHO and countries in addressing the interconnected issues of public health and the economy.

“The pandemic has had a momentous impact on health, economies and societies around the world. At the same time, it has shown that, with the right approach, it is possible to protect the vulnerable, to safeguard both health and the economy,” Prime Minister Marin said. “It has underlined the meaning of global solidarity and the importance of putting people at the center of decision-making. The participation of women in the policy design and at the heart of response and recovery is essential.”

“We strongly believe that this Council will provide invaluable advice to both to the Secretariat and the Member States,” Marin added.

In February 2021, Ghosh was also appointed by the United Nations to a high-level advisory board that will provide recommendations for the UN Secretary-General to respond to the current and future socio-economic challenges in the post-COVID-19 world. Ghosh joined the economics department and the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in January 2021. She had previously taught economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, for nearly 35 years. She has received several awards throughout her career, including for distinguished contributions to the social sciences in India in 2015, the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Research Prize for 2010 and the NordSud Prize for Social Sciences 2010, Italy.