Executive summary Women live 25% more of their lives in poor health when compared to men. Closing the Women’s Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies, published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) in 2024, found that closing the health gap between men and women could unlock 75 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) annually and $1 trillion in annual global GDP .4 Closing the women’s health gap would be the equivalent of adding seven healthy days per year for each woman.5 Addressing the drivers of the gap – treatment efficacy, care delivery, data and funding – could help to extend women’s healthy lives and capture the aligned and substantial economic benefits. This report takes the next step: a blueprint for closing the women’s health gap and improving lives and economies around the world. (For more on how this report defines women’s health, see “Terminology”.) Urgent actions needed to close the women’s health gap are illuminated when examining in detail nine selected conditions that collectively account for a third of the women’s health gap. The selected conditions are women-specific, affect women differently or affect women disproportionately than men. This approach, which includes analysis of 15 countries across income archetypes, creates a blueprint that could readily scale to other countries and additional conditions affecting women and their health, with the goal of providing a comprehensive view of women’s health worldwide and inspiring stakeholders to act. Closing the women’s health gap for these selected conditions alone could add almost 27 million disability-adjusted life years annually, equating to 2.5 additional healthy days per woman, per year, around the globe, and yield around $400 billion in annual GDP to the global economy. Selected conditions, in order of potential estimated annual gains in DALYs and GDP if the women’s health gap is closed by 2040:Conditions that affect lifespan –Ischaemic heart disease is the leading cause of death for women worldwide. Ischaemic heart disease represents potential estimated gains of 9.1 million annual DALYs and $43 billion in annual GDP in the women’s health gap.6 –Cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable with vaccination yet contributes to hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, mostly in LICs and LMICs. Cervical cancer represents potential estimated gains of 2.4 million annual DALYs and $10 billion in annual GDP in the women’s health gap. –Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women globally. Breast cancer represents potential estimated gains of 1.2 million annual DALYs and $8.7 billion in annual GDP in the women’s health gap. –Maternal hypertensive disorders are a leading cause of pregnancy complications for mothers and infants.7 Maternal hypertensive disorders represent potential estimated gains of 0.85 million annual DALYs and $1.4 billion in annual GDP in the women’s health gap. –Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide and affects more than 14 million women each year. Post-partum haemorrhage represents potential estimated gains of 0.25 million annual DALYs and nearly $200 million in annual GDP in the women’s health gap. Conditions that affect health span –Menopause and perimenopause, which can last for more than a decade, are estimated to affect more than 450 million women worldwide at any given time.8 Menopause represents potential estimated gains of 2.4 million annual DALYs and $120 billion in annual GDP in the women’s health gap.Nine selected conditions drive a third of the women’s health gap – reducing their effects could create around $400 billion in annual global GDP by 2040. Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap: How to Improve Lives and Economies for All 4

Blueprint to Close the Women%E2%80%99s Health Gap 2025