Transforming Population Health

Around the world, health systems are under tremendous strain, battling to respond to existing health burdens caused by rapid urbanization, the threat of new emerging diseases and extreme weather due to climate change, and the shortage of skilled health workers. These threats urgently call for innovative, multisector, and data-driven approaches to improve the health of populations. That’s why the Novartis Foundation uses evidence from its most impactful interventions to help decision makers enhance population health policy.

Population health approaches prioritize reducing health inequalities, promoting partnerships and public health initiatives, and maximizing the application of technology to strengthen health systems. Ultimately, we aim to re-engineer our current care systems into true health systems that prioritize keeping people healthy, rather than caring for them when they are unwell. COVID-19 has been a wake-up call for this urgent re-engineering. And, as the pandemic hit urban populations particularly hard, cities are the best place to start.