Doha, Qatar – The theme of this year’s World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) has been revealed as ‘Humanizing Health: Conflict, Equity and Resilience’.

The seventh conference of the global health initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF) will take place in Doha, Qatar on 13 and 14 November, and will highlight the need for innovation in health to support everyone, leaving nobody behind and building resilience, especially among vulnerable societies and in areas of armed conflict.

Lord Ara Darzi, Executive Chair of WISH and Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, said: “This year’s WISH comes at a time of great suffering and inadequate health provision for vulnerable populations, such as civilians in Gaza. It is of the utmost importance that we consider the cost of inaction at a systematic and a human level.

“At WISH 7 in November, it is vital that we make the most of a precious opportunity to look for solutions to pressing global health challenges. The solutions that the global WISH community seek must be equitable and foster resilience; they must humanize health.”  

This year, WISH has entered a strategic partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) – a partnership that involves collaboration in the development of a series of evidence-based reports and policy papers, as well as the support of WHO in a post-summit implementation strategy. With an evidence-based approach to developing innovative, practical solutions to some of global health’s most pressing challenges, the reports aim to provide policy recommendations that deal with how best to provide care at an individual, human level.

Reflecting on the partnership, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General at WHO, said: “WHO is deeply grateful to Her Highness Sheikha Moza, WISH, and Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health for bringing partners together to discuss conflict, equity, resilience and other pressing global health challenges, and to identify evidence-based solutions to promote, provide and protect the right to health.

“As disturbing as the number of conflicts in our troubled world is the increasing frequency of attacks on health care. These attacks deprive people of lifesaving health services at the time they need them most.”

Within the overall theme, November’s global gathering will feature four ‘tracks’, categorizing sessions into sub-themes:

  • Health and armed conflict, covering pain management, disability, hunger and mental health
  • Health of vulnerable and minority populations, considering TB in refugees and migrants and palliative care
  • System level innovation and change, such as antimicrobial resistance and the ethics of AI in health
  • Community-led engagement and interventions, including obesity and women’s cancers in the region

The biennial meeting will feature more than 200 experts in health speaking about evidence-based ideas and practices in healthcare innovation to address the world’s most urgent global health challenges.

-Ends-

About the World Innovation Summit for Health

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) is a global healthcare community dedicated to capturing and disseminating the best evidence-based ideas and practices. WISH is an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and is under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, its Chairperson.

The inaugural WISH Summit took place in Doha in 2013 and convened more than 1,000 global healthcare leaders. Through international summits and a range of ongoing initiatives, WISH is creating a global community of leading Innovators in healthcare policy, research, and industry.

Together, they are harnessing the power of innovation to overcome the world’s most urgent healthcare challenges and inspire other stakeholders to action.

About Qatar Foundation – Unlocking Human Potential

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) is a non-profit organization that supports Qatar on its journey to becoming a diversified and sustainable economy. QF strives to serve the people of Qatar and beyond by providing specialized programs across its innovation-focused ecosystem of education, research and development, and community development.

QF was founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir, and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, who shared the vision to provide Qatar with quality education. Today, QF’s world-class education system offers lifelong learning opportunities to community members as young as six months through to doctoral level, enabling graduates to thrive in a global environment and contribute to the nation’s development.

QF is also creating a multidisciplinary innovation hub in Qatar, where homegrown researchers are working to address local and global challenges. By promoting a culture of lifelong learning and fostering social engagement through programs that embody Qatari culture, QF is committed to empowering the local community and contributing to a better world for all.

For a complete list of QF’s initiatives and projects, please visit: www.qf.org.qa. 
To stay up to date on our social media activities, follow our accounts on: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: 
For any media inquiries about the Qatar Foundation, please contact: pressoffice@qf.org.qa
For any media enquiries about this press release or WISH, please contact WISH@saycomms.co.uk