Healthier, more resilient economy is possible in Mayo

The government will only achieve the best possible outcomes for their people in Mayo if they invest in their health.

Healthier populations are more resilient, get better results from education, and contribute to greater economic growth.

That’s according to public health expert, Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who addressed a special event in Dublin last Wednesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Institute of Public Health (IPH).

In his keynote address - ‘Should governments make us healthier? Shifting the focus of public policy’ - Professor McKee made the case for a 'Health For All Policies' approach, ensuring that every government department looks at all its policies through a health lens and commits to investing in healthier and more resilient communities in Mayo and across Ireland.

An investment in health, he argued, can achieve other policy goals, pointing to evidence of increased labour force productivity, a more secure labour market, and better education outcomes as examples of potential social and economic benefits.

Professor McKee said all government departments have a role to play in health: “We’ve long known that policies in other sectors – housing, transport, education and so on – can safeguard and improve population health. But we now recognise how better health is essential if we are to achieve success in other sectors. Healthier people stay longer in the workforce and are more productive. Healthier children get better educational outcomes. Healthier families invest more in small and medium enterprises.”

Governments, Professor McKee added, have no alternative but to reorient their investments in health with a broader cross-sectoral approach: “Everything affects health, but not everybody thinks health is their problem. Economic growth, security, social cohesion or wellbeing…whatever the goal, governments won’t achieve it if they fail to invest in health.”

IPH chief executive Suzanne Costello said a policy shift could include greater emphasis on health improvement and illness prevention: “Healthcare services are of critical importance but so too is investing in health improvement, illness prevention, and finding solutions to the wider social and economic factors that influence health. Shifting the policy focus has the potential to secure a healthier economy, healthier communities, and a healthier future for all.”

A panel of invited guests responded to Professor McKee’s address and discussed the potential to reframe health policy and investment. The panel of speakers included Sinn Fein TD and health spokesperson David Cullinane; SDLP MLA and health and wellbeing spokesperson Colin McGrath; CEO of Empower Adeline O’Brien; ESRI health economist Dr. Anne Nolan; and director of the Community Development and Health Network Joanne Vance.

The special gathering also heard contributions from the chief medical officers for Northern Ireland and Ireland, Professor Sir Michael McBride and Professor Breda Smyth respectively.

The event marked the 25th anniversary of IPH, set up in 1998 a short time before the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. The institute’s establishment as a north/south agency recognised that a geographical border offered no protection against disease or ill-health.

Ms. Costello said that while significant progress was made in key public health policy areas, such as tobacco control, since 1998, both jurisdictions continue to face shared public health challenges that could benefit from enhanced north-south cooperation.

“Faced with mounting challenges that affect our health – widening health inequalities, a cost of living crisis, the global climate crisis, and a rise in non-communicable diseases – there is a prime opportunity to reframe our approach to health on the island of Ireland and to harness enhanced cross-border cooperation on shared public health challenges.”