Making healthy life years part of the currency of growth

AS health has moved to the front page, the discussion is no longer just about the cost of care. It is about health as an investment. Healthy life years are the new currency of growth and prosperity. What's the evidence? Countries with the most healthy life years are also the most competitive, as demonstrated by the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index.

The fact is, we are living longer but we are not living healthier. For every year increase in life expectancy, we live only 0.8 years in a healthy state. And when individuals live longer in a state of disability, it adds up to big costs for companies and economies. Globally, if no action is taken, we will lose US$47 trillion of cumulative economic output between 2012 and 2030 because of the impact of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental disorders.

Where to start? Some of the necessary actions are well within reach of an individual company; others will require governments and companies to work together. In order to encourage new investments in health, the WEF, in collaboration with Bain & Company, has identified some practical actions that governments and businesses can take. Tackling vaccination rates, balanced nutrition, and healthy pregnancies could all make a difference, yet most stakeholders believe such interventions are too costly to implement. In our research we found the opposite. Even modest amounts of investment can generate returns that convert unhealthy life years into healthy ones.