In 2025, the McKinsey Health Institute and its global ecosystem across sectors, industries, and geographies came together around an important premise: Health is an investment, not a cost. Leaders increasingly recognized that investing in health is a strategic advantage — a shared priority that delivers returns for individuals, organizations, communities, and economies.

MHI had the privilege of working with partners who are putting this belief into practice. We’re grateful to work alongside you to make health everyone’s business by shaping dialogues, mobilizing global coalitions, and creating health-centric opportunities that generate economic and societal value. Read on for highlights from 2025 and a look ahead at 2026.

Yours in health,
The McKinsey Health Institute team

Living longer, better through metabolic health and healthy aging

• Longer lives are one of humanity’s greatest achievements — and one of our greatest opportunities to add years to life and life to years. MHI released new evidence with the Future Investment Initiative showing that every $1 invested in healthy aging in the U.S. yields $3 in returns. With Abu Dhabi Global Health Week, MHI unveiled a white paper exploring a vision for metabolic health for all, highlighting Abu Dhabi’s Healthy Living Program and its aspiration to create a global reference case for addressing the obesity epidemic at a population level.
• Turning insight into action requires partners who are ready to rethink how healthy aging is supported across communities. MHI’s longevity insights informed Ohio’s statewide healthy aging strategy, supporting efforts to modernize care and improve outcomes for a rapidly growing older population.

Building stronger brains for stronger societies and economies

• Our brains make us strong, agile, resilient—and human. This year, MHI published a new economic case for brain health, showing how scaling cost-effective interventions could add 267 million years of healthier life and generate $6.2 trillion in global economic value—reinforcing brain health as a foundational driver of productivity, resilience, and growth.
• Working with the Coalition for Mental Health Investment, MHI published a framework for catalyzing and de-risking investment. With Google and Grand Challenges Canada, MHI published the Mental Health & AI field guide, outlining how to responsibly and effectively scale access to mental health care with AI.

Improving women’s health to advance opportunity for all

• Investing in women’s health is one of the most powerful levers for improving lives and strengthening economies. At Davos, MHI and the World Economic Forum released The Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap — a foundational contribution to the Global Alliance for Women’s Health — outlining the path to unlock $1 trillion annually in global GDP and seven additional healthy days per woman per year, including a new platform to track progress over time.
• In partnership with the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, MHI convened more than 25 cross-sector organizations to accelerate action on closing the Black maternal-health gap—underscoring how equitable investment can strengthen outcomes and expand economic mobility.

Building a future-ready global health workforce

• A strong health workforce is the backbone of every resilient health system. MHI’s research showed how addressing the global shortage of up to 80 million healthcare workers could reclaim 189 million years of healthier life and add $1.1 trillion to the global economy. This work highlights how targeted investments in workforce capacity and digital enablement can strengthen both health outcomes and system performance.
• In partnership with Exemplars in Global Health consortium — including the Gates Foundation, Johns Hopkins, World Bank, and other partners — MHI advanced research on digital health interoperability and private sector engagement. The consortium’s insights are helping more than 15 countries shape national digital health strategies.

Enabling holistic health and sustainable performance with employers

• Healthy employees are the foundation of thriving organizations — and a catalyst for economic growth. In partnership with the World Economic Forum, MHI released the Thriving Workplaces report, quantifying up to $11.7 trillion in global economic value from investing in workforce health.
• Working with the Live Love Laugh Foundation, MHI developed the business case for investing in employee health in India — including a $350 billion annual economic opportunity — helping employers identify actionable levers to strengthen productivity and long-term organizational resilience.

As we look to next year, we’re focused on several areas that will enable healthier populations, more resilient societies, and stronger economies. In addition to our existing priorities, in Q1 we will also advance progress on two new topics:

• The brain economy in the age of AI: With the Brain Economy Action Forum and ecosystem partners, we are helping leaders harness strong brains to drive productivity and resilience—and at Davos 2026 we will accelerate this global movement toward unlocking the true human advantage: our brains.
• Prioritizing health across sectors: Our forthcoming Prioritizing Health flagship analysis, leveraging data and expertise from Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, will quantify the societal, population-health, and economic returns of scaling proven interventions—offering leaders across sectors clear evidence to guide decisions on where investing in health can create the greatest impact.

• Bridging the digital health gap through private sector engagement
• Closing the women’s health gap: Canada’s $37 billion opportunity
• The new case for brain health: Scaling interventions for health and economic growth
• Keeping investment in mind: Strategies for financing mental health
• From crisis to catalyst: Investing in addressing noncommunicable diseases
• The economic case for investing in healthy aging: Lessons from the United States
• Healthspan science may enable healthier lives for all
• Closing the Black maternal-health gap: Healthier lives, stronger economies
• The path toward a metabolic health revolution
• Heartbeat of health: Reimagining the healthcare workforce of the future
• Investing in the future: How better mental health benefits everyone
• Building interoperable healthcare systems: One size doesn’t fit all
• Blueprint to close the women’s health gap: How to improve lives and economies for all
• Thriving workplaces: How employers can improve productivity and change lives

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