Global Wellness Summit announces Wellness Moonshot initiative

A new initiative, the Wellness Moonshot project, was announced on day one of the 2017 Global Wellness Summit (GWS) yesterday.

The initiative, announced on stage at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Florida by GWS chairman and CEO Susie Ellis, has the objective of ridding the world of preventable disease.

The current epidemic of lifestyle-related illnesses, their threat to global health and impact on worldwide healthcare costs has been a key theme at the summit.

For the announcement of the global Wellness Moonshot initiative, Ellis was joined on stage by Dr Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States and currently chief of health innovation at Canyon Ranch.

Ellis, who was also joined on stage by a number of leading industry figures present at the summit, said: “The time has come to pool our resources – knowledge, access, funding ­– and use our collective megaphone on the world stage to work towards achieving a world free of preventable disease.”

The Wellness Moonshot initiative will be spearheaded by the Global Wellness Institute, the umbrella organisation of which the GWS forms part.

In a statement, the organisation said: “The GWI will bring the issue of preventable disease to the forefront in its research and education efforts and commitment to forge even more collaborations to create new paths for action.” 

The initial focus of the project will be to raise global awareness of its aims and objectives, looking at which prevention programmes are most urgently needed, and shedding light on the efforts to combat preventable disease that are already in motion.

Dr Carmona commented: “The world is increasingly plagued by largely preventable chronic diseases, and the crippling economic burden that comes with them. This call to action is absolutely critical, refocusing on humankind’s most pressing need.

“The Global Wellness Institute is the right organization to launch this moonshot, as it can only be achieved with high-level collaboration in the many health and wellness sectors.”

The announcement was enthusiastically received by the 600+ delegates at the summit, who span the breadth of the spa, wellness, hospitality and medical sectors.

Attendees include medical, wellness and fitness practitioners, nutritionists, mental health experts, spa and resort operators and spa and wellness industry suppliers, among other groups.

The 2017 Global Wellness Summit continues today.