Explore health equity through the lenses of economics, policy, and global health challenges - Health economics

Around the world, millions of people face unequal access to healthcare due to economic hardship, policy gaps, and systemic vulnerability. Health equity is not just about equal treatment, it is also about ensuring everyone has a fair opportunity to reach their full health potential, regardless of where they live or what resources they have. By looking at the intersection of health economics, public policy, and global disparities, we can better understand the root causes of unmet health needs and explore meaningful solutions.

Health inequities have significant social and economic costs to individuals and societies. In Wales, the Socio-economic Duty highlights the Welsh Government’s commitment to safeguarding equality and human rights, and places tackling inequality at the heart of decision-making.

Reducing health inequalities is an important policy objective, from a social justice perspective. An economic argument can potentially add weight to the objective of reducing health inequalities.

Health economics is about using resources efficiently to improve the population’s health. It focuses on equity, efficiency, effectiveness, values and behaviours for the allocation of healthcare resources to meet the health needs of the population it serves.

Economic evaluation compares the costs and consequences of alternative courses of action and provides evidence to inform decisions on how to allocate limited healthcare provision. Decisions on the allocation of resources need to be made in such a way that achieves effective and equitable outcomes and value for money.

There is growing economic evidence underpinning public health interventions. Evidence suggests that local and national public health interventions are highly cost-saving, and that cuts to public health budgets in high income countries are likely to generate billions of pounds of additional costs to health services and the wider economy.

Read materials relating to health economics.

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Page last reviewed: 19th January 2026