An Ounce of Prevention, A Pound of Certainty

Business leaders commit to fighting chronic disease, such as stroke, cancer and diabetes in the workplace

Davos, Switzerland, 28 January 2007 – World business leaders lined up for voluntary individual health screening at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at the Wellness Café set up in the Hotel Belvédère. The health checks are part of the Forum’s Working Towards Wellness Initiative to promote stronger commitments and closer collaboration among employers, employees and health organizations to prevent chronic disease in the workplace.

According to the World Health Organization, chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes are the leading cause of death in the world, and their impact is steadily growing. Deaths from chronic disease are forecast to increase by 17% over the next 10 years. The problem is not restricted to high-income countries or the elderly – chronic disease is growing fastest in low-income countries and almost half of those who die are younger than 70 years of age. Yet, the solutions are known and much of the problem can be prevented. Dr Catherine le Galès-Camus, Assistant Director-General at the World Health Organization comments, "Chronic disease prevention is an important part of the solution. Healthy diets, physical activity and tobacco control are being promoted by governments around the world." Speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Health of the United Kingdom, made it clear, "The causes are known, the solutions are clear, it is our responsibility to work together."

With increasingly global workforces and the growing amount of time spent at work, experts agree that the workplace is an essential place for effective prevention strategies including promoting long-term lifestyle and behaviour changes. Companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, WIPRO, ABSA, GlaxoSmithKline and Hewlett-Packard are designing and implementing wellness programmes to address key risk factors. "Our employee wellness programme features a variety of fitness, nutrition and coaching programmes to meet different needs. The overall goal is to develop healthier habits as well as to contribute to the quality of life in the communities in which we operate," said John Compton, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo North America, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies with more than 157,000 employees.

Companies can benefit from implementing wellness programmes at the workplace. A conservative estimate of the benefits from improving general wellness of a workforce indicates a likely annual return of three to one or more. Cristóbal Conde, President and Chief Executive Officer of SunGard, a global leader in software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector with more than 16,000 employees, said, "We believe wellness programmes can help companies reduce healthcare costs, increase employee productivity, attract talent and improve corporate image."

Yet, in many cases, leaders face challenges in implementation, specifically, evaluation and monitoring, effective use of incentives, creating a supportive environment and knitting together a global strategy from often locally-based efforts. Over the course of 2006, the World Economic Forum has used its regional meetings held worldwide to bring together leaders from different stakeholder groups to share perspectives and learn new advances in creating global employee health strategies. Stig Pramming, Executive Director of the Oxford Health Alliance, a charitable group dedicated to chronic disease prevention, described the work: "The Working Towards Wellness Initiative has brought together companies across different industries to discuss and find new solutions to address the prevention of chronic disease at the workplace. We are very glad to be part of the groundbreaking work".

As a capstone to the work in 2006, a worldwide report on the impact of chronic diseases and current practices among multinational companies was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. The report entitled Working Towards Wellness: Accelerating the Prevention of Chronic Disease was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. It sets out a framework for achieving best practice in global wellness based on interviews with leading multinationals in Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and offers five recommendations for business leaders:

Dr Catherine le Galès-Camus, Assistant Director-General at WHO stated, "Everyone has a role in prevention and control of chronic diseases. I am pleased to see that the commercial sector is examining chronic disease prevention through workplace initiatives." To succeed however, wellness programmes must be designed within the context of workplaces, family and community and involve public-private partnerships. Lise Kingo, Executive Vice-President and Chief of Staff of Novo Nordisk, a focused healthcare company and the world leader in diabetes care with more than 23,000 employees, commented, "A truly multisectoral approach that mobilizes the combined energy, resources and expertise of all global stakeholders is necessary for meaningful and sustained progress."

Xihong Ai, Project Manager of the initiative, said "We view this initiative as a key opportunity for stakeholders to come together to learn but also to create tangible solutions in both the developed and developing world."

Background Information:

The mission of the Working Towards Wellness Initiative of the World Economic Forum is to stimulate greater business engagement in the global fight against chronic disease through employee wellness. The goals of this initiative are to engage CEOs and business leaders in committing to measurably improve employee health and wellness; help companies take practical steps to improve general employee health; and facilitate collaboration between stakeholders in the battle against chronic disease.

The initiative’s Centre for Excellence will provide member companies with a synthesis of research, a network of experts, case studies and business cases for wellness as well as practical tools for businesses. Workshops held around the globe will allow stakeholders to share best practices and stay on top of new advances.

For more information on the Working Towards Wellness Initiative, please contact us at workingtowardswellness@weforum.org