Several health issues are high on the agenda of this Annual Meeting – Olivier Raynaud

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

Bonjour! As the head of the Health Team at the Forum, I feel excited as several health issues are high on the agenda of this Annual Meeting, which clearly reflects their importance and that, to be solved, they require collaborative efforts by all actors of society. In addition, we have a record number of health partners participants, who will contribute their insights and engagement in very timely and relevant public and private sessions.

Today, discussions revolved around the opportunities lying behind genomics and personalized medicines and their future impact on our lives, including on disease prevention and treatment and on healthcare systems costs and efficiency. As stated by George Halvorson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, USA "we are on the edge of a golden age" as the speed at which advances in this domain happen is mind-boggling. Another session looked at the trends and norms shaping the science agenda, in particular towards more collaborative research efforts across sectors.

Tonight we will be celebrating our 34 Workplace Wellness Alliance Members: Accretive Health*, Aetna*, AstraZeneca, Aura Biosciences, Bayer AG, BT Group*, Cargill, Cleveland Clinic,  Craft Food*, Fortis Healthcare, frog design, General Mills, Humana*, Johnson & Johnson*, Kaiser Permanente, Medtronic, Merck & Co*., Nestlé*, Midmark Corporation, Novartis*, Novo Nordisk*, Pepsico*, Pfizer*, Qiagen, Right Management, SAS Institute*, Sealed Air*,  Shaklee Corporation, Technogym*, The Boston Consulting Group, The Coca-Cola Company*, Tupperware Brands Corporation*, Unilever*, United Health Group.

These companies demonstrate strong leadership in workplace wellness and are committed to sharing best practice and standardized metrics. This will not only enhance their productivity but also impact the health and well-being of the entire working population, – remember, more that 50% of the world's population are employees. There is robust evidence that investing in workplace wellness is worthwhile, for every 1 USD invested, the ROI is up to 4 USD, so I let you do the maths!

(For more information on the Alliance, visit our website http://alliance.weforum.org :  to join the Alliance, contact: wellness@weforum.org). Later this evening, social entrepreneurs, young global leaders, government officials and CEOs will join a “nightcap” session where they will inspire each other by sharing their experiences, best practices, innovative ideas around how they think, communicate and deliver health.

This was a great first day of intense work, interactions, and lots of fun! A demain!