Health-ing Meets SIMPOL: Coordinating Prevention When No One Wants to Move First

Ushma Issar and Thomas Plochg sit down with John Bunzl (SIMPOL) to discuss why bold prevention efforts often stall at the critical question of “who should move first?” Together, they explore how SIMPOL’s citizen-driven, simultaneous policy model can break the cycle of international competition and enable countries to advance “health-ing” measures, such as AMR stewardship, healthier food policies, and clean-air standards, without disadvantaging early adopters.

John shares insights from SIMPOL’s campaign experience and key ideas from his book The SIMPOL Solution: A New Way to Think about Solving the World’s Biggest Problems, connecting game theory to real-world policy opportunities. The conversation closes with practical takeaways for policymakers and advocates on aligning incentives, strengthening public mandates, and making prevention a politically viable strategy.