Reforms undertaken in periods of crisis may not properly distinguish between effective and ineffective programmes. Cutting effective programmes aiming at attaining quick cost savings might endanger the health status of the population and result in higher costs, eventually. Greece offers a recent example of such cuts as they have resulted in an increase in HIV and tuberculosis infections along with the re-emergence of malaria (Stuckler and Basu 2013, OECD, 2013).