This panel event, hosted by Chatham House in partnership with Haleon and Global Health Partnerships, analyses health literacy as an imperative to health inclusivity and an economic and GDP driver in an increasingly competitive geopolitical system. Drawing on the findings of the Economist Impact Health Inclusivity Index spotlighting health literacy, supported by Haleon, this dialogue will explore how public, private and civil society actors can align to maximise health literacy and inclusivity towards a common goal of economic resilience.
In today’s increasingly interdependent world, geopolitical forces like conflict, economic power imbalances, resource competition and shifting aid landscapes are exacerbating global health disparities. While these pressures present challenges to global health, our enhanced interconnectedness also presents opportunities to deepen global action, address shared vulnerabilities and advance global health inclusivity together.
Health literacy has been identified as an imperative to health inclusivity, and therefore key to unlocking significant economic benefits generated by prevention and increased productivity. This discussion, held in collaboration with Haleon, explores how we can replicate and scale successful health literacy initiatives to contribute to broader health security and economic resilience by examining localised case studies. It further considers whether a whole-of-society approach could practically scale these projects to ensure that investment in health literacy leads to increased overall economic resilience.
Key questions to be discussed include:
- How can improved health literacy contribute to health inclusivity, and in turn, broader health security and economic resilience?
- What successful examples exist of health literacy initiatives and partnerships that have boosted economic indicators like GDP, labour market participation, or reduced social welfare costs?
- How can elements of successful health literacy initiatives be successfully transferred across borders while remaining grounded in the lived experience of consumers?
- How can these initiatives be scaled while still delivering measurable economic and health system returns?
- Can a whole-of-society approach ensure that investment in health literacy leads to increased overall economic resilience?
