Doha
23 November 2016

Thousands of Policymakers, Academics, and Healthcare Professionals are expected to attend 2016 WISH Summit.

World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) will host its biennial summit from 29 - 30 November at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) in Doha.

WISH 2016 will bring together thousands of high-level policymakers, academics, and health professionals to discuss and debate practical, lasting, and innovative solutions to global healthcare challenges.

The 2016 summit will be addressed by four prestigious keynote speakers including Professor Dame Sally Davies, England’s Chief Medical Officer; Lawrence H Summers, the Charles W Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard University; Dr Julio Frenk, Mexico’s former Minister of Health; and Mustafa Suleyman, Co-founder and Head of Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) at DeepMind.

Dame Sally’s address will focus on the growing issue of Antimicrobial Resistance worldwide.

Dr Frenk will address the issue of educational innovation in Universal Health Coverage.

Dr Summers will discuss the future of aid with a particular focus on investing in global health.

Mustafa Suleyman will outline how health systems around the world are grappling with the challenge of delivering better patient outcomes and experience with fewer resources.

Commenting on the upcoming summit, Khalifa E. Al Kubaisi, Head of Press Office, Qatar Foundation, said: “Qatar Foundation is delighted to welcome such an esteemed panel of guest speakers to Education City, and to host such a diverse programme of research-based discussion at this year’s WISH Summit.

'WISH constitutes an integral part of Qatar Foundation’s commitment to promoting innovation and to creating solutions that foster productive change regionally and globally. By convening the world’s leading experts and high-level decision makers, WISH aligns with QF’s multifaceted approach to supporting policy innovation for the benefit of populations everywhere.'

The summit will also feature nine research papers that highlight some of the most pressing challenges in global healthcare, including Healthy Populations, Precision Medicine, Investing in Health, Accountable Care, Cardiovascular Disease, Autism, Behavioural Insights, Genomics in the Gulf Region and Islamic Ethics, and Healthcare Workforce.

Internationally-renowned experts will chair the discussions. For the first time, WISH will also report on its impact, locally and globally, on issues previously highlighted at the conference, such as diabetes and patient safety.

The conference will also feature Innovation Showcases from around the world that are shaping the design, delivery, and financing of healthcare, as well as a cohort of young innovators - emerging healthcare leaders under the age of 30 - whose contributions to global health deserve wider recognition.

WISH, a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), has evolved into a significant platform for the dissemination of healthcare innovation and best practices, aligned with QF’s mission to reinforce Qatar’s pioneering role as an emerging center for healthcare innovation and unlocking human potential.

To register for WISH 2016 and to find further information about WISH, please visit www.wish-qatar.org and Twitter @WISHQatar.