7th World Health Summit

 
7th World Health Summit – Science, Innovation, Policies

Since it was launched in 2009, the World Health Summit (WHS) has brought together stakeholders and decision-makers from every field in the healthcare spectrum, providing the perfect forum for exchange with experts from academia, industry, politics and civil society.

Attracting about 1.200 participants and a wide range of stakeholder groups from all over the world, the event takes place annually in the German capital Berlin. The WHS enjoys the high patronage of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, the President of the French Republic, and the President of the European Commission.

The Central Topics of WHS2015 are:

• Antimicrobial Resistance: A Threat to Health Security

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) reduces the ability to treat common infectious diseases. Many standard medical treatments will turn into high-risk procedures. It is now recognized as a global challenge and a priority health security threat by many countries.

Positioning Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address social, economic, and environmental challenges facing humankind and must be implemented through an integrated approach.  Health is a critical dimension of the transformative change required to secure human well-being.

• Climate Change and Health

Climate change is a health issue. Agreements at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris in December 2015 will affect a wide range of social and environmental factors that influence health, such as clean air, safe drinking water, food supply and housing/shelter security.

• Ebola: Preparedness and Response

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa in December 2013 was the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976. The lessons learned underline the need for both core public health capacities: access to health services and cooperation between health and humanitarian actors. Social mobilization and community engagement are key to successfully controlling outbreaks.

• The Digital Health Revolution

Digital Health allows us to track, manage, and improve personal and family health through wireless devices, sensing technologies, social networks, mobile and body area networks and health information technology.  It has the potential to improve quality, reduce costs, and make medicine more personalized and precise.

• Medical Education

There are increasing proposals to transform medical education curricula in order to ensure high-level quality care and the best outcome for patients.  Many medical schools are responding with innovations aiming to ensure that the skills acquired during the formative years will prepare students well for a rapidly changing world of health care.

• Refugee Health & Mega Disasters

Humanitarian disasters, relentless conflicts, and natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes have resulted in millions of refugees and displaced persons over the past decade, all of whom are in need of help. In order to respond rapidly, we need healthcare and emergency aid systems that are not confined by national borders.

Additional topics include:

• Non-Communicable Diseases
• Mental Health: Evidence and Research
• Sexual Violence: The Health Sector Response
• Value-Based Healthcare
• Trade, Diplomacy and Global Health