THE WORLD HEART FEDERATION PARTNERS WITH THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM TO LAUNCH WORKPLACE WELLNESS INITIATIVE
THE WORLD HEART FEDERATION PARTNERS WITH THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM TO LAUNCH WORKPLACE WELLNESS INITIATIVE
Sunday 3rd September 2006, World Congress of Cardiology, Barcelona - The World
Heart Federation, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to the global prevention of
heart disease and stroke, announced today its involvement in a major new initiative to
improve the health of employees globally. The World Heart Federation has been
chosen as a key partner by the World Economic Forum to work together on its
Workplace Wellness initiative. This innovative project, called ‘Working Towards
Wellness,’ will help businesses, health experts and policy-makers to work together to
address and prevent the key risk factors that threaten employee health.
“Contrary to the traditional images of workplace health risks, chronic diseases such as
heart disease and stroke, now far exceeds accidents,” said Janet Voûte, CEO of the
World Heart Federation. “Global companies therefore have a unique and vital role in
improving the wellness, in terms of health and physical fitness of their employees, not
just in western countries, but in low- and middle-income countries as well. Workplace
health prevention interventions can lead to larger gains in worker productivity, reduced
absenteeism and cost savings,” said Janet Voûte.
"The World Economic Forum is proud to launch the Working Towards Wellness
initiative and looks forward to supporting businesses to create healthy solutions for
their employees through its networks, knowledge and convening capacities," said Jean-
Pierre Rosso, chairman of the Centre for Global Industries at the World Economic
Forum.
Within this partnership, The World Heart Federation has a vital role in ensuring that
chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and stroke, which are the world’s
leading cause of death, are high on the agenda of the wellness initiative.
This breakthrough initiative enables the World Heart Federation to work closely with
international companies to take a hands-on approach on how to establish or expand
programmes to improve employees’ wellness. The international companies engaged in
this initiative are from the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and sport sectors and
general industrial companies. The aim is to expand this partnership and also engage
trade unions, industry associations, health and wellness experts and government
representatives for health and labour.
“Global businesses should start to play a leading role in the health and well being of
their employees,” said Janet Voûte. “It is crucial that the environment in which they
work promotes health and reduces risk. The risk of heart disease and stroke can be
reduced through lifestyle changes, including healthy diets, regular exercise and tobacco
free living. By improving the working environment it is possible to promote healthier
habits and to support new behaviours. Smoke-free workplace policies are a good place
to start. The cost of inaction on health will increasingly be much higher than the cost
of addressing the health and wellbeing of all workers early on,” explained Janet Voûte.
The World Economic Forum’s Working Towards Wellness initiative, with the
scientific advice and expertise of such members as the World Heart Federation, is
helping companies to take practical steps to improve general employee health. This
partnership enables all stakeholders to share research, case studies, experiences and to
network with experts. Within this partnership, the World Heart Federation facilitates
the gathering of information, gives scientific advice and collectively shares success
factors from wellness campaigns around the world. Businesses will also share such
practical tools as wellness audits and best practice guidelines.
“Businesses must expand wellness programmes from headquarters to local operations,
and better link these programmes to initiatives within the broader community,” said
Janet Voûte.
Although many companies currently have programmes linked to wellness they are
generally limited in scope and do not accurately measure improvements in health and
productivity. The wellness initiative helps companies to take practical steps to adopt or
review established health programmes that improve employee wellness. These range
from offering classes to educate workers on healthy living and risk factors, to providing
healthy food options to employees through company dining areas, creating incentives
to encourage healthy lifestyle choices among employees, and include basic health
screenings.
As part of the initiative a series of workshops for stakeholders are taking place to share
best practices and learn new advances. The first wellness workshop took place in
London in May 2006 and the next will take place in New York on 28-29 September
2006. During this workshop participants will develop drafts of wellness principles and
set the basis for building a strong stakeholder network that shares research and
expertise.
-Ends-
About the World Heart Federation
The World Heart Federation, a nongovernmental organization based in Geneva,
Switzerland, is committed to helping the global population achieve a longer and better
life through prevention and control of heart disease and stroke, with a particular focus on
low- and middle-income countries. It is comprised of 189 member societies of
cardiology and heart foundations from over 100 countries covering the regions of Asia-
Pacific, Europe, the Americas and Africa. For further information visit:
www.worldheart.org
Press contact:
Michelle Roverelli, Cohn & Wolfe Public Relations
Tel: +41 22 908 4074 or E-mail: michelle_roverelli(at)ch.cohnwolfe.com
At the World Congress of Cardiology, contact Victoria Dix on Tel: +41 79 707 7592 or
E-mail: victoria_dix(at)ch.cohnwolfe.com
Or visit: http://www.cwnewsroom.ch
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to
improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global,
regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in
Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is
tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The Forum is under the supervision of
the Swiss Federal Government. For more information visit: www.weforum.org
Press contact:
Helena Leurent, the World Economic Forum
Tel: +41 22 869 1447 or E-mail: helena.leurent(at)weforum.org