“Health is the First Wealth”

Photo: Kehinde Olufemi Akinbo/Shutterstock.com

“The first wealth is health” wrote the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1860. His statement is a reminder that a good life – meaning the well-being of people and communities as well as economies – can only be built on sound foundations. Health is a fundamental human right and a key indicator of sustainable development. 

Thanks to big advances in technology, science, policies and investments, humankind has made great strides towards better health in the last decades. However, it is not a story of perfect progress. As the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the weaknesses of our healthcare systems and strained resources beyond imagination, advances towards the health-related SDGs are falling even further behind. SDG 3 seeks to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. The goal addresses all major health priorities, including reproductive, maternal and child health; communicable, non-communicable and environmental diseases; universal health coverage; and access for all to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and vaccines. It also calls for more research and development, increased health financing, and strengthened capacity of all countries in health risk reduction and management. 

How far are we from achieving these goals in the aftermath of the global pandemic? According to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), the rate of progress is one quarter or less of what is needed to achieve the 2030 objective. Additionally, other global crises such as war and conflict, increasing levels of food insecurity, political instability and the growing impact of climate change are holding back progress to achieve health-related goals because they are weighing down on the economic performance. Lower growth means less money to spend. 

Nevertheless, it’s not all doom and gloom. Notable progress has been made in regards to some indicators, while huge challenges remain. According to the UN, universal health coverage improved from a global average of 45 out of 100 in 2000 to 67 in 2019. Significant strides have also been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing child and maternal mortality. The number of children dying before their fifth birthday in 2020 was 14 percent lower than it had been in 2015. 

Major progress was also made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation as well as on reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/ AIDS. The number of people requiring treatment and care for neglected tropical diseases (NTD) declined from 2.19 billion in 2010 to 1.73 billion in 2020. However, more efforts are needed to control a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues. 

The UN’s most recent progress update in 2022 points out additional global health concerns and how COVID-19 continues to pose challenges to people’s health and well-being. According to the WHO, as of February 2023 the virus had infected more than 750 million people worldwide and 7 million people have died. The pandemic may be in retreat in advanced economies, but it is far from over. 

COVID-19 has severely disrupted essential health services with 92 percent of 129 countries reporting interruptions, triggered an increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression, lowered global life expectancy by 1-2 years, derailed progress towards ending HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, and halted two decades of work towards making health coverage universal. As a result, immunization coverage dropped for the first time in 10 years, and deaths from TB and malaria increased. The UN stresses that urgent and concerted action is needed to set the world back on a trajectory towards achieving SDG 3. 

What should countries focus on in the post-pandemic era to improve health systems? “Healthcare needs to be prioritized within government spending. The funds, domestic or external, need to focus on the building blocks of healthcare such as strong surveillance and monitoring, primary healthcare and robust supply chains. Another fundamental building block is decentralized manufacturing of medical measures,” says Mamta Murthi, Acting Managing Director of Development Policy & Partnerships and Vice President for Human Development at the World Bank. COVID-19 highlighted the need for increased investments at country and international levels to recover the health systems and improve primary care to achieve the health-related goals. 

The OPEC Fund & SDG 3 Long before the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the fundamental importance of public health, the OPEC Fund had made healthcare one of the priorities of its activities. Over the years the institution has provided more than US$1.1 billion to the sector in developing countries, supporting the development of primary to tertiary healthcare and training facilities, manufacturing of medical supplies and increasing the number of hospital beds. 

When the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic, the OPEC Fund moved immediately in support of governments and the private sector – announcing a US$1 billion response program. Sovereign loans were directed initially towards emergency relief efforts, for example the purchase of medical supplies such as testing kits and laboratory equipment. Later the OPEC Fund focused both in the public and private sector on minimizing the economic disruption caused by the pandemic: ensuring access to capital for small and medium sized enterprises sustained employment levels and created new jobs, while strengthening supply chains helped maintain international trade and promote connectivity. 

The OPEC Fund and Uganda's Heart Institute 

The OPEC Fund is supporting the construction and equipment of the Uganda Heart Institute in the nation’s capital Kampala. The facility will serve not only the four million people living in and near Kampala, but Uganda’s entire population of some 40 million by offering increased access to cardiovascular services from currently 12,000 patients to over 60,000 patients per year.