Health Systems at a Crossroads: Redesigning for Healthier Societies | Milan Longevity Summit 2026

*Our health systems were built primarily to treat illness. What would they look like if they were designed to keep people healthy?* As populations live longer and chronic conditions account for an increasing share of healthcare needs, health systems face a fundamental challenge: continuing to respond to disease while building the capacity to prevent it, preserve function, and support healthier lives across the lifespan. In this panel from the *Milan Longevity Summit 2026*, experts from the *World Health Organization, regional health systems, academia, and health policy* explore what this transition requires in practice. The discussion opens with *Yongjie Yon*, Technical Officer on Ageing and Health at WHO Europe, bringing a European perspective to the challenge of adapting health systems to ageing populations. In dialogue with Yon, *Rosanna Tarricone* explores the choices facing healthcare systems as they balance prevention and treatment, innovation and affordability, individual needs and population health. The conversation then broadens to examine how these challenges translate into policy and implementation, from regional prevention strategies to models of care capable of responding to changing demographic and social realities. How do we shift resources upstream without compromising care today? How can prevention become a structural part of healthcare rather than an aspiration? And how do we design systems that remain sustainable while delivering better health outcomes over longer lives? *Participants:* • Yongjie Yon – Technical Officer on Ageing and Health, WHO Europe • Danilo Cereda – Director, Prevention Unit – DG Welfare, Regione Lombardia • Rosanna Tarricone – Associate Dean, SDA Bocconi • Laura Po – Associate Professor, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia • Micaela Shmid – Researcher, University of Pavia • Felice Lopane – Director, Cluster BION Chaired by Felice Lopane, This discussion makes the case for moving beyond a healthcare model centred primarily on treating disease towards one that considers *prevention, healthy ageing, social conditions, and long-term health as fundamental measures of success*. Because the challenge of longevity is not simply helping people live longer. *It is redesigning our health systems so that longer lives can also become healthier ones.* *Powered by World Health Organization –WHO* The Milan Longevity Summit brings together global leaders across science, policy, business, technology and society to explore longevity through a *One Health* perspective — connecting the health of people with the health of our societies, economies, and planet. *Learn more about the Milan Longevity Summit:* https://www.milanlongevitysummit.org/it/speakers26 #MilanLongevitySummit #WHO #HealthSystems #HealthyAgeing #HealthcareInnovation #Prevention #PublicHealth #HealthPolicy #Longevity #OneHealth @SDABOCCONI @UniBocconi @UniversitadiPaviaufficiale @who