Even if a perfect technical answer can be found about the net health gains from different investment options, there is no guarantee that this will be the politically acceptable one. Investing for Health is about balancing the complex array of positive and negative benefits with the political realities of what is and is not acceptable. The Verona Initiative is a multi-partner venture bringing together political, business, academic and nongovernmental leaders to explore, develop and extend our understanding of Investment for Health and how it can be used to support countries, regions and local communities. The initiative is a response to major changes taking place across the European Region in national and international politics, in social and economic performance, in institutions and in technology. At the same time we are seeing widening gaps in health status both in countries that are in economic crisis and in those which are prospering.
Good health is fundamental to people s wellbeing and central to sustainable economic development.
Although we instinctively know this to be true, health is all too often ignored or excluded in matters of economic and social policy. The Verona Initiative is structured around three Arena Meetings, which take place over three years from October 1998 to July 2000. Arena meetings are a forum for debate providing the opportunity for participants to meet, discuss and exchange views in a search for consensus. The meetings are designed to provide a learning and working environment that is quite different to the conventional conference agenda. But the Verona Initiative has proved to be more than meetings.