Health amid a financial crisis: a complex diagnosis

Health amid a financial crisis: a complex diagnosis

The global financial crisis could have profound implications for the health spending plans of national governments. Unless countries have safety nets in place, the poor and vulnerable will be the first to suffer. Jane Parry and Gary Humphreys report. “In a recession it is important for governments to protect the poor and vulnerable, but most countries have not yet done this,” Evans says, adding that WHO has long been helping countries develop universal health protection mechanisms that are a vital safety net in times of economic turmoil.
The current financial crisis that started with the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in North America and parts of Europe in 2007 has since extended to low- and middle-income countries. Hungary has received emergency financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other countries are in talks to secure similar IMF packages. But such support could limit governments’ ability to spend on health. And while developing countries are not yet in recession – defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth – economists are concerned about the global downturn. Some fear it could be as bad or even worse than the great depression of the 1930s.

Financial crisis: long-term perspective needed
21 January 2009 -- The health sector needs to take steps to counter the negative consequences of the financial crisis on global health. Countries also need to take a longer term perspective so their health systems are more resilient in the future, said participants in a recent consultation.
Download the consultation report [pdf 87kb]
Listen to our podcast on financial crisis and health

WHO Warns Economic-Motivated Suicide Will Increase in 2009

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the number of suicides could increase as millions of people worldwide grapple with the economic crisis.
“There is a clear evidence that suicide is linked to financial disasters,” Director of the Department of Mental Health for the WHO, Benedetto Saraceno, told Reuters. “I am not talking about the millionaire jumping out of the window but about poor people,” he said.

In times of economic crisis, people turn to yoga

In times of economic crisis, people turn to yoga

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - As layoffs loom and pensions plummet, more people are unrolling their yoga mats and polishing their poses to find flexibility and sanity amid the financial chaos.
Fitness experts say gym memberships are holding steady, or rising, and yoga classes are thriving.
"The economy may have taken a downturn, but attendance in our yoga classes has grown," said Jess Gronholm, National Yoga Coordinator for the Crunch health club chain.
"A yoga practice becomes a refuge from the negativity of an economic recession, and the studio becomes the sanctuary," said Gronholm, whose employer has over 100,000 gym members in five U.S. states.
Yoga, which originated in India, uses movement and postures to strengthen the body and breathing techniques and meditation to quiet the mind.

Millionaires' Net Worth Down 30% in Current Financial Crisis

Millionaires' Net Worth Down 30% in Current Financial Crisis
Most Fear Long Downturn, Insufficient Assets for Present Lifestyle; Many Unhappy With Advisors' Performance

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - January 6, 2009) - America's millionaires are feeling significant pain.
U.S. households worth $1 million or more have seen their assets decline 30% during the current financial crisis, according to a new report released today by Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com). Nearly one-fifth (17%) of millionaires have absorbed declines greater than 40%, according to the report, titled "Attitudes of Affluent Investors on Surviving the Economic Crisis."
Nearly all the millionaires surveyed (90%) fear a prolonged economic downturn. Altogether, they believe it will last for another 22 months, and more than half (55%) are concerned they will not have sufficient assets to maintain their present lifestyles.
"The current financial crisis has had a dramatic impact on America's millionaires, reducing their net worth substantially and threatening their ability to maintain both lifestyles and retirement plans. While they blame the government and Wall Street directly for the situation, many millionaires are not happy with their advisors' performance and few say they will increase the work they give to advisors," said Catherine S. McBreen, Managing Director of Spectrem Group.
Indeed, just 36% of millionaires feel their advisor performed well during the crisis and only 14% say they will increase their use of financial advisors in the future.
The Spectrem Group report, "Attitudes of Affluent Investors on Surviving the Economic Crisis," is based on the online polling of 750 households with over $1 million of net worth. Polling was conducted in November 2008. The data have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Information was also gathered during focus groups conducted in New York, Palm Beach, Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Attitudes of Affluent Investors On Surviving The Economic Crisis

Overview
As the U.S. economy begins to understand the impact of the largest financial crisis since The Great Depression, investors will reassess how to invest (or save) their assets and who they turn to for advice. How has this crisis impacted these households and are they changing their portfolios? Their attitudes? Their Providers? Their lifestyles?
Spectrem Group, the market leader in research of households with over $1 million, plans to quickly assess the attitudes, behaviors and outlooks of wealthy households to allow financial services providers and others to review and adjust their strategic plans as well as the products and services they will be offering to these investors in the next twelve to twenty-four months. Now, more than ever, investment and financial services providers, must understand how to position themselves to obtain and even retain current customers. It is critical for providers to understand these households to increase their fee based services.