Putting health first at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

Strengthening health systems and transforming healthcare

During the WEF Annual Meeting, we met with government leaders, multilateral organisations and civil society to advocate for action to strengthen health systems so they can meet the population health needs of today and tomorrow.  

This can be achieved by: 

• Recognising health as a long-term investment in the future, not a short-term cost; 
• Acting early to prevent, diagnose and treat disease;
• Prioritising scientific innovation to unlock the potential digital, data and technology; and 
• Building climate-resilient, net zero health systems, addressing the effects of climate change on health.  

Shining a spotlight on climate, resilience and equity

Through key engagements, our leadership highlighted the urgent need to build health system resilience and sustainability to address current and future health needs, noting the lessons learned from COVID-19 and the cost of inaction.

With fresh warnings from the World Health Organization (WHO) that an unknown “Disease X” could result in 20 times more fatalities than the coronavirus pandemic, Michel Demaré, our Non-Executive Chair of the Board, joined a mainstage panel on “Preparing for Disease X.” Alongside Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO, the panel explored practical solutions to strengthen health systems, including evidence-based recommendations from the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience.

We also convened global health and environmental leaders on the topic of improving health system resilience in the face of climate change alongside Dr. Vanessa Kerry, CEO, Seed Global Health and WHO Director-General Special Envoy on Climate and Health. With a particular focus on financing, this roundtable discussion explored how to deploy funding to accelerate impactful, equitable and scalable interventions.  

Additionally, recognising the important role of nature in health and healthcare, we announced that we will be an ‘early adopter’³ of the recommendations from the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). This means we’ll disclose our dependencies, risks and opportunities related to nature from next year. With climate change and biodiversity loss closely interlinked, this shows our commitment to protect and restore ecosystems by lowering the environmental footprint of healthcare while investing in nature and biodiversity.

Accelerating action through partnership

The scope and scale of the challenges facing health systems today require stakeholders from the health sector and beyond to work together. Since the launch of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force⁴ at COP26, partners have taken concrete action to accelerate the transition to net zero healthcare. 

At this year’s WEF Annual Meeting, we, along with four other global healthcare companies, announced an industry-first renewable power agreement⁵ to decarbonise their operations in China. In partnership with Envision Energy, one of China’s largest renewable energy companies, the agreement will not only save the equivalent in emissions of taking 25,000 cars off the road, but sends a strong demand signal for renewables and establishes a blueprint for collective action to drive decarbonisation at scale. 

By focusing on the interconnected themes of health resilience, climate action and equity and emphasising health as the foundation of prosperous and well-functioning societies, our engagements at the WEF annual meeting aimed to inspire action and collaboration across sectors. By working together, we can act faster and make greater progress.