Action on 9 key health conditions can add 2.5 healthy days to women’s lives: WEF report

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Targeting nine key health conditions may be crucial for women’s health and add the equivalent of 2.5 healthy days per woman per year, according to new research released at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday. The new report shows that compared to men, women live one-fourth more of their lives in poor health. Focussing on the nine conditions, categorised as lifespan and healthspan conditions may be key to boosting their lives and health.

“The nine conditions are divided into lifespan conditions, related to the total number of years lived (maternal hypertensive disorders, postpartum haemorrhage, ischemic heart disease, cervical cancer, and breast cancer) and health span conditions, related to how many of those years are healthy (endometriosis, menopause, migraine, and premenstrual syndrome),” said the report, published in collaboration with the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI).

The report noted that targeted action around these nine key health conditions may help cut down the global disease burden by 27 million disability-adjusted life years as well as add the equivalent of 2.5 healthy days per woman per year. It also highlighted the vast economic opportunities of investing in women’s health. Targeting the nine conditions also has the potential to transform millions of lives and unlock $400 billion in global GDP annually by 2040, said the report.

“Measuring progress is essential for driving meaningful change and developing effective healthcare strategies tailored to women,” said Shyam Bishen, Head of the Centre for Health and Healthcare and member of the Executive Committee, WEF. “Despite the opportunity to add 2.5 additional healthy days to women’s lives, they are often overlooked due to a lack of sex-specific research -- only 10 per cent of clinical trials for ischemic heart disease and migraine report such data,” she added.

As part of this initiative, the Forum, in collaboration with MHI, launches the Women’s Health Impact Tracking (WHIT) -- a publicly accessible tool designed to measure and address global health gaps and promote equitable, scalable solutions worldwide. By providing data-driven insights on health outcomes and economic opportunities, the platform highlights the urgent need for investment in three underfunded conditions: menopause, premenstrual syndrome, and migraine, representing a $315 billion GDP opportunity.

Globally, there have been critical disparities in women’s health outcomes, driven by gaps in data collection, research funding, clinical practice guidelines, and healthcare delivery systems. Notably, while 54 per cent of the women’s health burden occurs in low- and middle-income countries, only 23 per cent of clinical trials focus on these regions.

The report emphasised that improving data accuracy, increasing research funding for women-specific conditions, and enhancing sex-based clinical guidelines could significantly reduce these disparities. “It is time to count women, study women, care for women, invest in women, and include all women,” said Lucy Perez, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and Co-leader of the McKinsey Health Institute.

“Addressing these nine conditions can not only improve the lives of millions of women and unlock $400 billion of economic uplift -- but it also provides a blueprint for scaling and tracking progress to close the broader women’s health gap,” Perez added. The WEF Annual Meeting 2025 is being held in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, from January 20 to 24. Global leaders are deliberating various issues under the theme 'Collaboration for the Intelligent Age'.