In this episode of the MAP – Market Access Podcast, Dr. Stefan Walzer speaks with Hatice Küçük Beton, Executive Director of the G20 Health and Development Partnership, about how to make global health truly investable – and keep it on the political agenda once the immediate crisis fades. They explore why high-level leadership, from Angela Merkel’s role during Germany’s G20 presidency to Japan’s joint health–finance initiative, was crucial in moving health from a “social cost” to a strategic economic and security issue. Hatice explains how bringing health and finance ministers to the same table – and getting them to speak the same financial language – has begun to reshape thinking around budgets, risk and long‑term system resilience.
The conversation then dives into what a practical health investment framework could look like, with clear positive qualifiers, benchmarks and disqualifiers to guide capital into high-impact areas without overburdening investors with new bureaucracy. Hatice and Stefan discuss why health must be de‑politicised and reframed as a pillar of economic resilience, geopolitical security and human wellbeing – not a “nice to have” public service – and why returns on health investments should not be taboo. If you work in market access, health economics, policy, pharma, medtech or healthcare investment, this episode offers concrete ideas on how smarter, market‑driven health investment can shape global and national health systems by 2030.
