G20 Position Paper: Upstream Prevention & Wellbeing Finance
Published by Gareth Presch | World Health Innovation Summit & Global Social Prescribing Alliance
By Gareth Presch
We have just wrapped up the Global Social Prescribing Alliance Summit 2026. At this global gathering, we published several key frameworks, including the Global State of Social Prescribing, the WHIS/GSPA Future Trends Report, and our G20 Position Paper: “Well Futures Alliance.”
Since 2020, we have championed social prescribing on international stages. In 2021, we launched our playbook at the G20 Global Solutions event. Today, the directive is clear: health = wealth, and we have the opportunity to deliver health for all while driving sustainable economic growth.
The Macro Investment Case
- The Paradigm Shift: Healthcare is a $12 trillion global industry, yet a mere 3% of capital is dedicated to prevention while 97% is spent on reactive treatment. We are calling on G20 leaders to reframe health as an intentional economic investment priority rather than a cost.
- Proven High Returns: Shifting capital toward upstream prevention and community well-being is projected to deliver a $24 to $1 return on investment.
- Job Creation: Investing in the care economy has the potential to create 300 million global jobs—directly helping to mitigate a projected global shortage of 10 million health workers by 2030.
- Financial Imbalance & GDP Drag: The UK economy alone is struggling with over 2.4 million people out of work due to long-term ill health, representing over 6% in lost GDP. This restricts growth, limits fiscal borrowing for public services, and ultimately leads to cuts in frontline healthcare like the NHS. 🚨** READ THE FULL G20 BLUEPRINT & OXFORD STUDY ON SUBSTAC**K
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