Why Prevention Still Doesn’t Get Funded (Even When It Works)
Dear all,
I want to share something I’ve never shared before — not because it’s about me, but because it’s about all of us.
Recently, I applied for funding for a science-based, non-invasive product designed to improve metabolic health and help prevent lifestyle diseases.
It wasn’t my first application. I’ve spent a year refining it — adjusting it to their feedback, strengthening the science, making it better.
But the most recent rejection ended with this line:
“The widespread use of Wegovy makes it difficult to believe that patients would choose such a product.”
That one sentence says it all.
It wasn’t rejected because it lacked data.
Or innovation.
Or potential.
It was rejected because prevention doesn’t fit the system.
Here is the video I shared online to give this problem attention and below why this matters to you.
I want to be clear:
I have nothing against treatments.
They save lives. They help people who need them.
But prevention is not the opposite of treatment — it’s the foundation that should come first.
And we have the science to prove it:
🩵 Cardiovascular risk drops by 50% in people who sauna 4–7 times per week
(Laukkanen et al., 2015, JAMA Internal Medicine)🔥 Heat therapy increases Human Growth Hormone by up to 16x — naturally
(Kox et al., 1985)❄️ Cold exposure improves insulin sensitivity and reduces inflammation
(Hoffman et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2014)🧠 Lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, stress regulation) can prevent up to 80% of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes
(World Health Organization, 2016)
And yet... prevention receives less than 5% of global healthcare funding.
Global Perspective: How little actually goes to prevention
In 2022, governmental public health activities accounted for less than 5% of total U.S. healthcare spending, despite overall expenditure exceeding $4.5 trillion annually.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allocated approximately $1.4 billion to chronic disease prevention and health promotion in that same year — a figure that has decreased in real terms since 2015.
In Europe, the average expenditure on preventive care was €202 per person, but even that figure dropped 6% from the year before. Countries like Germany (€458), Austria (€411), and the Netherlands (€312) are investing more than others — showing what’s possible with commitment.
According to the World Health Organization, preventive care is critical for achieving universal health coverage and tackling the global rise in non-communicable diseases. Yet even WHO has faced funding gaps, making it harder to support upstream strategies.
So why doesn’t it get funded?
Because prevention doesn’t create customers.
Because keeping people healthy doesn’t drive pharmaceutical profits.
Because the system is built to respond to disease, not to avoid it.
If your work helps people stay out of hospitals, off medications, and mentally clear — you’re often pushed to the margins.
And that’s exactly what happened to me.
But this isn’t just my fight.
It’s about what kind of health future we want to build.
Do we want our kids and grandkids to grow up believing that their only option is a pill?
Or do we want to teach them how to regulate, restore, and thrive?
Here's something few people know:
Most scientists start out wanting to prevent disease. We go into research with hope. With curiosity. With the dream of making the world healthier.
But the deeper you go into the system, the clearer it becomes:
If you want to stay in academia, get published, or receive funding... you have to work on a treatment.
It’s not because we don’t believe in prevention.
It’s because the system doesn’t.
That’s why I chose to step outside it.
It’s not easy. I’ve received more rejections than I can count.
But I’m still here. And I’m still building.
Because I believe in your ability to take care of your own health — not just wait for someone else to treat you.
I believe you deserve to know how to work with your body.
And I believe we need to start talking more openly about what stands in the way.
If this resonates with you — I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Start the debate in the commentary below, share it with someone, or just take a moment to reflect.
This is the future of health. It starts with awareness. It grows through conversation.
And it becomes real through action.
With belief in the work,
Susanna