Building New Incentives for Healthy Living – Olivier Raynaud

Olivier Raynaud is Guest Blogging for the Forum. He is the Senior Director, Global Health and Healthcare Sector, World Economic Forum.

Day 3 was impressively busy again! 

In a private health session this morning, CEOs from across industries, heads of international agencies, NGOs and government officials brainstormed on how to build new incentives for healthy living by reversing the trends of sedentary lifestyles and stress seen today. Social media, education, workplace wellness and national well-being indicators were all part of solutions suggested.

Dan Ariely, behavioural economist at Duke University, rightly pointed out that we do not often do what lies in our best interests even if we theoretically know better. Indeed – what do you do when a long term wish collides with a short term desire? This was reinforced by comments by Dr. Mirta Roses Periago from PAHO, who pointed out that if we want to create impact we need to tap into the fact that individuals want to have fun and enjoy life and find a way to integrate this into ways to acquire good health and stay healthy in a sustainable manner. And Dr. Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization, left us with three take away messages: that we needed to think globally, act locally (with City Mayors for example), and that what was not measured could not be managed.

During a lunchtime event, experts shared the latest news and developments around cancer prevention and treatment, including the growing role technology may play. Exciting times, with more and more proof that health truly is a cross-sector issue.

Finally, we were lucky to have Bono (Singer of U2 and Co-founder of ONE and RED), Dr. Chan, Melinda Gates (Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Muhtar Kent (Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company) and Lars Rieben Sorenson (President and CEO of Novo Nordisk) as panellists in a session on “Raising Healthy Children”. They called for more public-private partnerships, greater innovation in vaccine related challenges such as how to best manage the cold chain, and dedicated investment in women. Bono pointed out that although progress has already been made in decreasing the rate of child mortality as “six thousand infant lives per day are being saved since 2004”, this number will not increase unless governments become proactively involved. “A nation never changes unless there is a leader who says ‘no more’” concluded Josette Sheeran (Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme) who moderated the session.

To finish on a high note, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged 100 million USD to the WHO polio eradication campaign and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, promised to double the pledge made by his country. Cameron ended by saying that “it is never the wrong time to do the right thing” and I think we all agree that now is the time to take action.

A demain!