Health cannot be bought at the supermarket. You have to invest in health. You have to get kids into schooling. You have to train health staff. You have to educate the population.

Rosling stresses that population health is not a consumer good that can be purchased instantly, but a long-term social achievement built through public investment. By listing schooling, training health staff, and educating the population, he links health outcomes to institutions and human capital: literacy, competent medical systems, and widespread knowledge that enables prevention and effective use of care. The quote also pushes back against simplistic “buy more medicine” solutions, implying that durable improvements come from building capacity—especially education systems and a trained workforce—rather than relying on market transactions alone. It reflects Rosling’s broader argument that development is measurable, incremental, and driven by structural investments.