Global Health @ the Forum

Mission statement

The mission of Global Health @ the Forum is to galvanize businesses across sectors to take action to improve global health*, in partnership with other stakeholders of society.

Global Health @ the Forum is committed to addressing key health issues of the world by connecting leaders from intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, local governments, academia, and private organisations to hold meaningful dialogue within the global health agenda, and develop unique ideas into projects.

Global Health @ the Forum Activities Portfolio

Why health at the World Economic Forum?

Health is one of the World Economic Forum’s key focus areas as it is directly aligned with the Forum’s mission: Committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in shaping the global, regional and industry agendas”. The Forum focuses on three key health-related activities: advocacy, dialogue and action through partnership.

• The Forum recognises health as an important part of long-term economic development and engages its members and other stakeholders to advocate health as an investment.

• Health is an issue that involves multiple stakeholders – intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, local governments, academic experts, private organizations, and others, all of which are trying to contribute to health and to ensure availability and quality of health services. The Forum is uniquely positioned to connect these stakeholders and catalyze improved efficiency through meaningful dialogue and interactions within the global health agenda

• Recognising that private sector participation is critical to addressing health issues, the Forum plays an active role in engaging the private sector and setting up public-private partnerships (PPP) to help address global health challenges

Health is an area in which entrepreneurship can flourish. It is the mission of the Forum’s Health team to galvanise business to take action in global health. A comprehensive and holistic approach to improving health reveals several gaps – opportunities wherein ideas and industries can thrive with a focus on health.

* “...global health is an area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. Global health emphasizes transnational health issues, determinants and solutions; involves many disciplines within and beyond the health sciences, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration; and is a synthesis of population-based prevention with individual-level clinical care.”

J.P. Koplan et al., The Lancet (6 June 2009) “Towards a common definition for global health”, 373: 9679, pp. 1993-1995