McKinsey Health Institute

Adding years to life and life to years

This is a decisive moment in the history of human health. Over the last century, society has made incredible progress in extending life. But while life expectancy has increased, so has the amount of time spent in moderate to poor health. And significant inequities persist both across and within countries. It’s time to set a more ambitious aspiration. An aspiration for everyone on the planet to add years to their lives and life to their years.

Humanity mobilized against COVID-19 at a speed and scale previously unseen. While far from perfect, our successes should inspire us to challenge what we think is possible. At its best, our response to COVID-19 demonstrates that when resources and motivation coalesce, scientific breakthroughs, and large-scale behavior change are possible in very short periods of time.

The McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) is an enduring, non-profit-generating entity within the firm. It was founded on the conviction that, over the next decade, humanity could add as much as 45 billion extra years of higher-quality life (roughly six years per person on average—and substantially more in some countries and populations). MHI’s mission is to catalyze the actions needed across continents, sectors, and communities to realize this possibility.

Hear MHI leaders discuss the mission to add up to 45 billion extra years of higher-quality life, roughly six years per person on average.

What we do

Convene and enable leaders

Bring leaders together across governments, non-profits, for-profits, and academia to share learnings and take action

Advance research

Design, conduct, invest in, and share research in conjunction with an ecosystem of experts and partner institutions

Create and promote open-access data assets

Work with partners across countries and domains to gather, secure, integrate, enrich, and openly share useful data

Stimulate innovation

Catalyze and scale innovation through crowdsourcing, competition, investment, and transparency

Featured event

MHI at the World Health Assembly

This May, MHI makes its World Health Assembly debut with an event exploring how to transform society into a healthier place for older adults worldwide. MHI will also join Devex’s Accelerating Global Health Innovation side event about the role of decision makers in unlocking a lifetime of great health for all.

Featured Content and Initiatives

Article - McKinsey Health Institute

Age is just a number: How older adults view healthy aging

– The results of a survey from the McKinsey Health Institute shed light on the health perceptions and priorities of people aged 55 and older.
Article - McKinsey Health Institute

Gen Z mental health: The impact of tech and social media

– A new McKinsey Health Institute survey finds that Gen Z’s social media engagement can feel negative but can also help with finding mental health support and connectivity.
Interview - McKinsey Health Institute

Young children are experiencing trauma: How Sesame Street wants to help

– Sesame Workshop’s Jeanette Betancourt explains what the show and the organization behind it are doing to address trauma and emotional... well-being for young children.
Article - McKinsey Health Institute

Better health among Middle Eastern employees can start with awareness

– A survey of workers in four Middle Eastern countries provides a baseline for understanding the state of employee health and informing... strategies to improve outcomes.
Article - McKinsey Health Institute

The secret to great health? Escaping the healthcare matrix

– The blueprint to achieve a lifetime of great health is increasingly clear and within our control. But unlocking it requires challenging... the orthodoxies currently guiding individuals and institutions.
Interactive - McKinsey Health Institute

Prioritizing brain health: Scaling what works to add years to life and life to years

– How many more years can be spent in optimal health if our society viewed mental and substance-use disorders as we do other conditions?... The McKinsey Health Institute and the Healthy Brains Global Initiative collaboration sought to answer this question through a series of interactives.

Key shifts

Achieving 45 billion years of higher-quality life requires six key shifts:
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