Bhutta - investing   

The population pyramids of many parts of the world are changing so rapidly. Today the proportion of young people in countries in the Middle East are 60-70% of the population. Now that is something that if invested in properly could be the population dividend. But if not addressed properly it could also be the population quicksand that countries can sink into.  

So whose responsibility is this? So you could argue, turn around and say it is the responsibility of nation states to invest in their own populations. But when people are living in strife, conflict, abject poverty and affected by geo-political issues, then it no longer remains a national priority it becomes a global priority. So I think, moving forward there is tremendous opportunity for doing something about this. 

How do we do this? Strengthening family structures, investing in the health, nutrition, mental health and well-being of young girls, empowering them. You educate a girl, you educate a family, you educate a village. And this is exactly where investments need to be made. 

I mean, I for one am convinced, having spent a lifetime working in public health, is that some of the best gains in health and in society need to come from outside of health. And that is the reason why I think the sustainable development goals provide us a huge opportunity of linking important investments- gender empowerment, investing in education, investing in safe living conditions and safe environments, security, peace and of course improving nutrition and health. If you’re able to do this in a manner that is inclusive, then we will not have the 200 million deprived children living in the world.