Economics of Health for All: A Contribution from the Field

Economic models still too often treat health as a cost to be managed rather than as a goal to design for. Building on the Geneva Health Forum’s May 2026 session on the determinants of health, which found that political will, not a lack of evidence, is what holds action back, this session turns to a concrete question: what does it take, in practice, for governments, cities and civil society to put health at the heart of economic decisions? 

The session draws on the WHO Economics of Health for All Strategy (2026–2030), adopted at the 79th World Health Assembly. Public health experts working at national and city level, together with civil society, will share field experience of what made progress possible, what held it back and what others can learn from it. Participants will then work in roundtables to turn these experiences into transferable lessons, which will be consolidated into a collective contribution to the Strategy’s implementation ahead of its 2028 review.