A roadmap to a healthier world was unveiled today as more than 1000 world leaders, policy makers and healthcare experts gathered in Doha to discuss new solutions to the most urgent global health challenges at the second World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH).
With the spread of Ebola, the continuing rise in heart disease, the advancing wave of diabetes, the growing cost of cancer care, the growth of mental illness, there is pressing need to address these issues and identify solutions for generations to come.
Shaikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation and Founder of WISH, said: "The WISH conference helps change our global health reality towards achieving a greater ambition of providing quality health coverage for all. Healthcare and healthcare access go to the heart of human rights. We cannot overcome our healthcare challenges unless we begin to invest in solutions that link health and education, as they are intrinsically connected. Innovation in education leads us to innovation in health. It is our wish to promote the causes of both access to basic primary education and universal health coverage."
Delegates participated in discussion panels and shared ideas aimed at creating solutions for growing and costly global health issues, including cancer, diabetes, dementia and mental health.
Over the course of the two-day summit eight major reports will be published, examining research and case studies from around the world to provide new learnings and solutions to diverse and widespread health challenges.
WISH is also showcasing some of the newest and most ground-breaking health innovations from around the world including virtual surgery, 3D-printed prosthetics and mobile apps. Today, day one of the summit, saw five forums present new research papers on; Diabetes, Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children, Universal Health Coverage, Patient Safety and Dementia. These papers offer workable, cost-effective and evidence-based solutions for governments to adopt and implement around the world.
This year WISH is hosting two special panels; one that takes place on Tuesday on Genomics, looking at the future of personalised medicine and the ethical dilemmas this new frontier in healthcare could bring; and one taking place on Wednesday on Newborn and Maternal Health hosted alongside The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Harvard University and Save the Children.
The Young Innovators display has invited the next generation of global experts to showcase their healthcare innovations to attending international experts allowing direct and swift uptake of these valuable and grassroots ideas. One such example is Braci, a simple but highly effective app that turns sounds into vibrations or images for deaf people to be alerted to reducing the reliance on hearing dogs, carers and costly in-house emergency systems.
Delegates heard from distinguished keynote speakers including former White House health advisor Don Berwick and health cover expert Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna.
"In the face of growing health concerns, reducing budgets and increasingly fluid global borders we face a crossroads in world health that presents a unique dilemma for us all," The Right Honourable Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair of WISH, said. "We must act urgently to share our experiences, combine our insights and progress solutions together. Only through collaboration can we be sure to find the right answers and only with innovation can we deliver the outcomes needed. WISH provides the platform for such action and I am proud to be welcoming the world’s experts to Doha today to create a healthier future for all."