Emerging research highlights resilient health as a high-potential investment area, outperforming conventional financial expectations. Climate change poses systemic financial threats, with health impacts representing a significant yet underpriced driver of global economic instability.
The World Economic Forum is launching a new initiative on Investing in Resilient Health to advance market intelligence, policy frameworks, and partnerships that can unlock large-scale funding.
Climate-related health risks affect productivity, insurance liabilities, healthcare spending, sovereign stability, and supply chains—factors critical to long-term investor planning. By 2050, these effects could result in $12.5 trillion in economic losses and 14.5 million additional deaths. Antimicrobial resistance alone may reduce global GDP by 3.8%. Productivity declines in food and agriculture, urban environments, and healthcare could exceed $1.5 trillion. Major health firms may face $31 billion in annual losses from operational disruptions and asset damage.
These challenges are accelerating demand for technologies and services that safeguard populations and ensure continuity of care. The telehealth sector, vital during extreme weather events, is projected to expand from $161 billion in 2024 to over $790 billion by 2032.
Shifting climate patterns are altering the geographic spread of respiratory, infectious, and chronic diseases, increasing the need for diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments in both developed and emerging markets.
The cooling systems market, driven by rising temperatures and energy standards, is expected to grow from $150 billion in 2024 to at least $600 billion by 2050, according to the International Finance Corporation.
Health infrastructure investment in developing nations is also set to rise due to aging populations, climate impacts, urbanization, and economic growth.
Evidence increasingly shows that resilience-focused investments yield strong returns. Studies indicate that every $1 spent on climate resilience generates over $10 in economic benefits, with average annual returns exceeding 20%—reaching up to 79% in health services. The Boston Consulting Group estimates the adaptation and resilience market could reach $0.5 to $1.3 trillion by 2030, with a 7:1 benefit-cost ratio in healthcare and life sciences.
World Bank analysis supports this, showing return-on-investment figures including:
– $168–317 for every $1 invested in resilient health infrastructure, despite current underfunding—only $1 of every $87 in infrastructure spending includes resilience considerations.
– $416 per $1 invested in drone-based medical supply delivery.
– $15 per $1 invested in text-based telehealth services.
Advancements in technology, supportive policies, and new financing models are accelerating this shift. Once-experimental tools are now scalable and investable. Medical drone networks have proven viable across diverse markets. AI-powered early-warning systems help insurers, hospitals, and governments anticipate heatwaves and disease outbreaks. Energy-efficient air conditioning, wearable health monitors, and parametric insurance are now deployed globally.
Life-science firms are adapting R&D pipelines, with some reporting that 50–80% of new developments target climate-exacerbated diseases. Heat-stable medicines, climate-specific vaccines, and point-of-care diagnostics are advancing rapidly.
A new financial ecosystem is forming to support innovation. The Climate & Health Funders Coalition, comprising over 35 philanthropies, has committed $300 million over three years. Multilateral Development Banks have adopted a Joint Roadmap for Climate & Health and are expanding investments to attract private capital. New funding vehicles by PATH/Global Innovation Fund, Temasek Trust, Grand Challenges Canada, AVPN, and Zinc are incubating impact-driven ventures, reducing risks and creating entry points for equity, credit, and infrastructure investors.
Policy momentum is also growing. G7 Health Ministers have urged increased public and private investment. The G20 has pledged support for climate-adapted health tech and digital infrastructure. At COP28’s Health Day, over 120 countries committed more than $1 billion in financing. The EU’s Life Sciences Strategy includes €300 million for procuring climate-resilient innovations, strengthening commercial incentives.
The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Health and Healthcare collaborates with governments and businesses to strengthen healthcare systems. Initiatives include COVAX, which delivered over 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines, and Gavi, which has saved over 13 million lives. The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative is building a global data cohort of 1 million patients. A mental health policy toolkit developed with Deloitte supports lawmakers. The Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare has launched hubs to reduce inefficiencies, serving thousands in the Netherlands and Sub-Saharan Africa. UHC2030 engages 30 stakeholders to advance universal health coverage.
Given strong fundamentals, resilient health is emerging as a high-growth, risk-mitigating investment frontier aligned with global policy and market trends. The Forum’s new workstream will map viable solutions, analyze bankability and risk-return profiles, and convene dialogues among investors, policymakers, and funders.
Investors interested in this space are invited to participate.
— news from The World Economic Forum
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Resilient health: a new investment frontier
Dec 22, 2025 n nGrowing evidence shows that resilience investments like health outperform traditional expectations. Image: Shutterstock n nThis article is part of: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting n nClimate change is a systemic financial risk – and its health impacts are one of the most material, least priced-in drivers of economic volatility. n nNow is the time for investors to seize this resilient health opportunity, to drive both growth and societal resilience. n nThe Forum is launching a new workstream on Investing in Resilient Health to foster the market information, policy and partnerships to unlock this opportunity. n nWhile climate-driven health risks create significant macroeconomic exposure, they will also drive major shifts in market needs and demand. In parallel, policy commitments and public investments, rapidly evolving technologies, and the emergence of blended-finance investments create a rare alignment between market need, innovation readiness, policy momentum and a growing pipeline of innovative companies. Now is the time for investors to seize this resilient health opportunity, to drive both growth and societal resilience. n nClimate change has become a systemic financial risk – and its health impacts are one of the most material, least priced-in drivers of global economic volatility. These health risks directly affect productivity, insurance liabilities, healthcare expenditures, sovereign resilience and supply-chain stability – all key considerations for investors focused on long‑term value. n nBy 2050, climate-driven health effects could generate $12.5 trillion in economic losses and cause 14.5 million additional deaths, while anti-microbial resistance could lead to a 3.8% drop in global GDP. Workforce productivity losses due to climate change’s health impacts could exceed $1.5 trillion across just the food and agriculture, lived environment and healthcare sectors. Large global health companies alone are expected to face annual losses of $31 billion by 2050 due to increased operational expenditure costs, lost revenues due to business interruptions and the costs of repairing assets. n nResilience investments n nSuch impacts are accelerating demand and expanding the investible universe towards technologies and services that protect populations and maintain continuity of care. A few examples include: n nThe telehealth market – increasingly essential during extreme-weather disruptions – is projected to grow from $161 billion in 2024 to more than $790 billion by 2032. n nClimate change will also shift geographic patterns of respiratory, infectious and chronic diseases, increasing demand for diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics across high-income and emerging markets. n nWith increases in temperature levels and energy-efficiency standards, the cooling systems market is expected by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to grow from $150 billion in 2024 to at least $600 billion by 2050. n nHealth infrastructure investments, particularly in emerging countries, are expected to grow significantly as a result of aging, climate impacts, urbanization and economic development. n nA growing evidence base demonstrates that resilience investments outperform traditional expectations. Research finds that every $1 invested in climate resilience yields more than $10 in economic benefits, and average economic annual returns of over 20% (up to 79% in health services). The Boston Consulting Group estimates that the adaptation and resilience market could reach between $0.5 and $1.3 trillion by 2030, with a 7:1 benefit-cost ratio for companies in healthcare and life sciences. n nWorld Bank analysis on health-sector climate adaptation solutions confirms this trend, with estimated ROIs (including healthcare cost savings) of: n n$168-317 per $1 invested in resilient health infrastructure – while currently only $1 for every $87 invested in infrastructure is spent on projects with resilience considerations. n n$416 per $1 invested in drone-based medical supply chain delivery. n n$15 per $1 invested in text-based tele-health services. n nEnabling policy and financing n nThese opportunities are being fueled by market-shaping developments, including the acceleration of technological innovation, life-science companies’ efforts, enabling public policies, and significant levels of catalytic and concessional investment. n nTechnologies that once seemed experimental are now investible and ready to be deployed at scale. Medical drone delivery networks have been piloted and proven their feasibility across emerging and high-income markets. AI‑driven early‑warning systems are enabling insurers, hospitals and governments to anticipate heatwaves, vector-borne outbreaks and infrastructure strain. Energy-efficient ACs have proven their cost-effectiveness, personal devices can effectively monitor health risks and parametric insurance products are now deployed globally. n nLife‑science companies are also adapting portfolios: some report that 50-80% of their R&D pipelines now align with diseases exacerbated by climate change. Heat‑stable formulations, new vaccines designed for climate-driven conditions and point-of-use diagnostic tools are progressing rapidly. n nA new financing architecture is emerging to drive innovation and early-stage investment in resilient health. The Climate & Health Funders Coalition brings over 35 philanthropies together and has committed $300 million over three years to support innovation and early scaling. Multilateral Development Banks have agreed on a Joint Roadmap for Climate & Health and are expanding investments, with an interest in crowding in private capital. Instruments focused on incubating and scaling impact ventures in this field are being launched across geographies, including by PATH / the Global Innovation Fund, Temasek Trust, Grand Challenges Canada, AVPN, Zinc and others. These mechanisms will over the coming years grow the pipeline of investable solutions and ventures, mitigate startup risks, and create structured entry points for equity, credit and infrastructure investors. n nFinally, policy commitments are sending strong clear market signals with governments aligning rapidly around this health resilience agenda. G7 Health Ministers have called for scaled investment from public and private actors, while the G20 has committed to supporting climate‑adapted health technologies and digital health infrastructure. On Health Day at COP28, over 120 countries and their financing partners made the first global political commitment on the topic, and committed over $1 billion in financing. The EU’s Life Sciences Strategy includes €300 million for procurement of climate‑resilient health innovations, strengthening commercial incentives for developers. n nDiscover n nWhat is the World Economic Forum doing to improve healthcare systems? n nThe Global Health and Strategic Outlook 2023 highlighted that there will be an estimated shortage of 10 million healthcare workers worldwide by 2030. n nThe World Economic Forum’s Centre for Health and Healthcare works with governments and businesses to build more resilient, efficient and equitable healthcare systems that embrace new technologies. n nLearn more about our impact: n nGlobal vaccine delivery: Our contribution to COVAX resulted in the delivery of over 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines and our efforts in launching Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has helped save more than 13 million lives over the past 20 years. n nDavos Alzheimer’s Collaborative: Through this collaborative initiative, we are working to accelerate progress in the discovery, testing and delivery of interventions for Alzheimer’s – building a cohort of 1 million people living with the disease who provide real-world data to researchers worldwide. n nMental health policy: In partnership with Deloitte, we developed a comprehensive toolkit to assist lawmakers in crafting effective policies related to technology for mental health. n nGlobal Coalition for Value in Healthcare: We are fostering a sustainable and equitable healthcare industry by launching innovative healthcare hubs to address ineffective spending on global health. In the Netherlands, for example, it has provided care for more than 3,000 patients with type 1 diabetes and enrolled 69 healthcare providers who supported 50,000 mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa. n nUHC2030 Private Sector Constituency: This collaboration with 30 diverse stakeholders plays a crucial role in advocating for universal health coverage and emphasizing the private sector’s potential to contribute to achieving this ambitious goal. n nWant to know more about our centre’s impact or get involved? Contact us. n nInvesting in Resilient Health n nResilient health is emerging as a high‑growth frontier for patient capital – scalable, investible, risk-reducing, and aligned with accelerating global policy and market momentum. n nGiven these strong fundamentals, the World Economic Forum is launching a new workstream on Investing in Resilient Health to help foster the market information, enabling policy environments and risk-mitigation partnerships needed to unlock investment at scale towards resilient health. This workstream will map investible solutions, conduct bankability and risk–return analyses, and convene Investment Dialogues with policymakers, catalytic investors and commercial investors. n nInvestors keen to act on this opportunity in resilient health are invited to join our effort! n nDon’t miss any update on this topic n nCreate a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses. n nSign up for free n nLicense and Republishing n nWorld Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use. n nThe views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum. n nStay up to date: n nClimate and Health n nMore on Health and Healthcare Systems n nSee all