{"id":26626,"date":"2026-02-27T12:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T12:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:17:11","slug":"the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to","status":"publish","type":"novosti","link":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/news\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/","title":{"rendered":"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"207\" data-end=\"337\">The choice before us is clear: the level of investment directly shapes the quality of care, the availability of therapies, and long\u2011term health outcomes.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"339\" data-end=\"493\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">In this video, we open up a key question about the future of our healthcare system \u2013 how ready are we to invest in health, and what consequences does that decision carry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interview with Schalk Opperman, GM\/MD at Merck Croatia &amp; Slovenia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26625,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tags":[167],"kategorije-novosti":[160,104],"class_list":["post-26626","novosti","type-novosti","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-merck","kategorije-novosti-interview","kategorije-novosti-video","wpbf-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to? &#8211; iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to? &#8211; iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Interview with Schalk Opperman, GM\/MD at Merck Croatia &amp; Slovenia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NemaPredaha\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ifi-cover-seo-hr-01.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@IFIhr\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/\",\"name\":\"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to? &#8211; iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Schalk-Opperman.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-27T11:17:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Schalk-Opperman.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Schalk-Opperman.png\",\"width\":570,\"height\":547},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Po\u010detna stranica\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/homepage\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Novosti\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/\",\"name\":\"iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa\",\"description\":\"Predstavljamo glas inovativnih farmaceutskih kompanija koje zapo\u0161ljavaju vi\u0161e od 700 djelatnika i osiguravaju gotovo 60% lijekova u Hrvatskoj\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"IFI\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa\",\"alternateName\":\"IFI\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ifi-logo-seo-hr-01.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ifi-logo-seo-hr-01.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NemaPredaha\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/IFIhr\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/22312574\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCCVpJnZ1CPXeOx9weD5KMLw\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ifi.hr\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to? &#8211; iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to? &#8211; iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa","og_description":"Interview with Schalk Opperman, GM\/MD at Merck Croatia &amp; Slovenia","og_url":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/","og_site_name":"iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NemaPredaha\/","og_image":[{"width":1300,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ifi-cover-seo-hr-01.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@IFIhr","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/","url":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/","name":"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to? &#8211; iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Schalk-Opperman.png","datePublished":"2026-02-27T11:17:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Schalk-Opperman.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Schalk-Opperman.png","width":570,"height":547},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/the-question-is-not-whether-we-can-afford-to-invest-in-health-the-question-is-can-we-afford-not-to\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Po\u010detna stranica","item":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/homepage\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Novosti","item":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/novosti\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The question is not whether we can afford to invest in health. The question is \u2013 can we afford not to?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/","name":"iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa","description":"Predstavljamo glas inovativnih farmaceutskih kompanija koje zapo\u0161ljavaju vi\u0161e od 700 djelatnika i osiguravaju gotovo 60% lijekova u Hrvatskoj","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#organization"},"alternateName":"IFI","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#organization","name":"iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa","alternateName":"IFI","url":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ifi-logo-seo-hr-01.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ifi-logo-seo-hr-01.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"iF! - Inovativna farmaceutska inicijativa"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NemaPredaha\/","https:\/\/x.com\/IFIhr","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/22312574\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCCVpJnZ1CPXeOx9weD5KMLw","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ifi.hr\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novosti\/26626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novosti"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/novosti"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26626"},{"taxonomy":"kategorije-novosti","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifi.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kategorije-novosti?post=26626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}