In 1993 the global heath community was introduced to a new way of measuring and valuing health and interventions to improve health – through an economic lens.  The World Bank’s World Development Report ’93 looked at the topic of “Investing in Health,” examining the interplay between human health, health policy, and economic development. UW’s Dean Jamison, professor of global health, who was at the World Bank at the time, was lead author on the WDR93, which was completed under the leadership of Lawrence H. Summers, World Bank chief economist in 1993.
Dr. Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet,  has now invited Dr. Jamison to establish and co-chair a high profile, international Lancet Commission on “Investing in Health: the World Bank’s World Development Report at 20 years” to mark the 20th anniversary of WDR93.  The commission will last 15 months and will report its key findings and recommend next steps at the end of 2013.  Larry Summers, now at the Harvard Kennedy School, will chair the commission.  A multidisciplinary group of distinguished experts from around the world have accepted to be commissioners.
Supported by NORAD and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the commission, known as CIH, will revisit the methods and conclusions of WDR93 in light of subsequent research findings, technological advances, institutional changes, and on-the-ground experience.  The ultimate emphasis of the CIH will be to draw lessons from past success to inform current and future policies for addressing remaining global health problems.
Gavin Yamey from UCSF will be medical advisor to the CIH and lead author (alongside Dr. Jamison) of the report, while the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy will serve as its secretariat.
To learn more about CIH, please email beith@cddep.org.