Healthy people, healthy business

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed health and wellbeing at the forefront of the global agenda, revealing an urgent need to strengthen health systems, build capacity and prepare for future emergencies. The pandemic has also underlined inequalities, raising significant questions around access to healthcare and healthy lifestyles for the most vulnerable in our societies. Meanwhile, environmental disruptions such as the climate crisis and nature loss, are compounding health concerns. Against this backdrop, the Healthy People, Healthy Business project explores how businesses can play a pivotal role in supporting the long-term promotion of health and wellbeing for everyone.

    The challenge

    The world is falling critically short of many of the Sustainable Development Goals’ health-related targets, from the delivery of universal health coverage to ambitions to end epidemics such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030. COVID-19 has thrown much progress even further off track. The global burden of disease continues to rise, be it from chronic and infectious diseases, malnutrition and poor mental health, making it ever more challenging to provide appropriate care. 

    The business case

    Poor health represents a burden not only to those who suffer directly, but also to the economy at large. The business case for supporting health and wellbeing is undeniable. By recognizing and working to improve their impacts on health and wellbeing among their own employees and across global value chains, businesses can help to foster and benefit from a more robust economy and marketplace, a healthier, happier and more productive workforce, and more resilient supply chains.

    The solution

    The Healthy People, Healthy Business project is a cross-sectoral coalition to explore how businesses across a wide range of sectors can play a pivotal role in developing and driving the uptake of solutions to global health challenges, supporting long-term disease prevention and health promotion. Specifically, this includes to explore and identify solutions for businesses to:

    • Embed a culture of health and wellbeing at the workplace
    • Support healthy consumer lifestyles
    • Build more resilient and accessible health systems
    • Accelerate climate, nature and equity action informed by planetary health science

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