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Three simple preventive health measures such as making homes safer to prevent falls, increasing physical activity and expanding access to hearing aids could save global healthcare systems more than USD 5.8 trillion and generate an additional USD 645 billion in productivity by 2040, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) insight report.
The report, "The Longevity Dividend: The Business Case for Linking Health and Wealth", argues that governments and businesses should stop treating health and wealth as separate policy areas and instead view preventive healthcare as an economic investment. "Three low-tech interventions could save the world's healthcare systems upwards of USD 5.8 trillion and unlock another USD 645 billion in productivity by 2040," the report said. It added that "just three simple and affordable changes can deliver handsome financial benefits: fall-proofing homes with rug tape and grab bars, increasing physical activity and expanding access to hearing aids." According to the WEF insight report, preparing for ageing populations "does not require sweeping reforms or untested technology." Instead, "the interventions are low-cost, data-verified and ready to deploy now," while the key challenge is for "governments, employers and financial institutions to stop treating physical and financial health as separate domains." The report said the largest savings could come from preventing falls among older adults through inexpensive home modifications. It estimated that "fall-proofing the world's homes with low-tech solutions, such as rug tape, stair lighting and grab bars, would spare global healthcare systems USD 5.4 trillion by 2040, while requiring an initial outlay of less than USD 400 billion." WEF also highlighted the economic benefits of increasing physical activity to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes, particularly in countries experiencing rapid demographic change. It noted that "younger" economies such as Nigeria, Indonesia and Viet Nam are seeing ageing populations emerge alongside rising diabetes rates, making preventive action even more valuable. The report further argued that expanding access to hearing aids offers benefits well beyond improving hearing. "Yet preventing dementia need not be the primary reason for promoting hearing aid use. Singling out the high returns from dementia reduction alone establishes the significance of looking beyond primary use cases and factoring in knock-on benefits when building the business case for health interventions," it said. Globally, the report estimated that around 400 million people could benefit from hearing aids, yet fewer than 20 per cent currently have access. It said wider adoption would not only improve quality of life but also reduce healthcare costs by lowering dementia cases and other health risks associated with untreated hearing loss. The report concluded that longevity should no longer be viewed simply as a challenge posed by ageing populations. Instead, it said addressing health and wealth together represents "one of the most consequential, addressable and underestimated economic opportunities of the next two decades," with preventive interventions capable of delivering significant long-term returns for governments, businesses and households. (ANI)
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