Health vital to sustainable economic growth in region

‘Healthy Asia-Pacific 2020’ road map to highlight mental, women’s health

Healthy individuals are more productive and would be able to contribute more to the economy.

With this premise, Health Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin yesterday opened a high-level meeting on health with a call for economic planning and finance officials to stop looking at health as a cost.

Garin, who delivered the keynote address at the opening of the 5th APEC High Level Meeting on Health and Economy yesterday, said officials should consider people’s health and well-being as an investment.

She also stressed that aside from physical health, officials should give as much importance to mental health and erasing its stigma.

“I would like to posit that mental and physical well-being should be regarded as investments, without which will result in astronomical costs to governments, corporations and our citizens,” she said in her keynote address.

A road map aimed at promoting health as key to sustainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region is being developed jointly by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Health Working Group (HWG) and the Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF).

The road map, called “Healthy Asia-Pacific 2020,” aims to promote people’s health and well-being by means of whole-of-government, whole-of-society, and whole-of-region approach.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Aside from promoting physical and mental health, the road map also aims to address the continuous rise of infectious diseases and anti-microbial resistance, especially those acquired in health care and institutional settings.

Garin said health is a core component for economies to reduce poverty, encourage financial inclusion and spur development.

“The Government of the Philippines recognizes that improved access to healthcare not only promotes good health but also contributes to labor force productivity, employment, and eventually, economic growth. We recognize that investing in health is critical for reducing poverty and promoting inclusive growth,” she said.

Ill health, on the other hand, can result in a decrease in economic productivity and activity, as well as an increase in poverty.

“Economic goals can be wiped out by a single illness,” she said.

MENTAL HEALTH

Professor Peter Sheehan of the Victoria Institute of Strategic Economic Studies cited a study that showed the incidence of non-communicable diseases in the Philippines contribute to a 5-to-6 percent gross domestic product (GDP) loss.

Of this percentage, mental illnesses make up a “big portion,” he said.

Stigma against mental illnesses is still prevalent in many economies, so much so that many cases of people with mental illnesses remain undocumented and unreported to this day.

In the Philippines, Sheehan said there seems to be a lack in mental health practitioners and institutions that serve the mentally ill.

The health of the women workforce will also be given priority in the road map.

More attention will be given to the health and safety needs of women, access to quality health services and information, disparity in family planning, gender-based violence or harassment in the workplace, and work-life balance of women.

Several innovations that APEC health officials are working on include improving the security and integrity of supply chains of pharmaceutical drugs; launching the APEC Blood Supply Chain Partnership Training Network; establishing biomedical innovation centers in partnership with the academe, government and several industries; and creating a center for training and health.