The Healthy Ageing and Prevention Index is an online tool created by ILC that ranks countries on six metrics including, life span, health span, work span, income, environmental performance, and happiness. The Index helps us understand how well countries have adapted to longevity and inform decision makers on what must be done to maximise the economic benefits that comes with living well for longer.

We launched the first wave of the Index alongside the 76th World Health Assembly last year at an event attended by the Singaporean Health Minister and Canadian Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. Our analysis found that only 1% of the global population is best adapted to longevity and on average, there is a 23-year gap in life span, health span, and work span between the top 10 and bottom 10 countries on the Index. Additionally, countries perform better on the Index if they invest more in preventative health, including life course immunisation, and universal health coverage.

This year, we launched the second version of our Index in Geneva on Tuesday 28 May 2024, which will allow us to track progress and give new insights into what needs to be done to keep populations healthier for longer.

Over the last four years, ILC has engaged with expert stakeholders from around the globe, including the G20 and G7, on the health and economic benefits of investing in preventative health in light of population ageing. There is a window of opportunity for us to drive meaningful cross-sectoral action in a post-pandemic society. Just last year, the first ever climate-health ministerial was established at COP28, demonstrating a real move towards acknowledging the link between health and wider societal issues.

The speakers at the launch included:

• Professor Orazio Schillaci, Minister of Health, Italy
• Dr Hans Groth, Chairman of the Board, World Demographic & Ageing Forum
• Professor Ilona Kickbusch, Founder and Chair, Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute and co-chair, World Health Summit Council
• Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director, Country Health Policies and Systems Division, World Health Organisation EURO
• Dr Marta Lomazzi, Executive Manager, World Federation of Public Health Associations
• Dr Shyam Bishen, Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
• Dr Karin Tegmark Wisell, Director General, Public Health Agency of Sweden