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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) will host its biennial summit at the Qatar National Convention Centre from November 29 to 30.
WISH 2016 will bring together thousands of high-level policy makers, academics and health professionals to discuss and debate practical, lasting and innovative solutions to global healthcare challenges.
Speaking at a media roundtable on Wednesday, Qatar Foundation Head of Press Office Khalifa E al Kubaisi said the summit will be addressed by four keynote speakers - 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.
Kubaisi said Dame Sally's address will focus on the growing issue of Antimicrobial Resistance worldwide, while 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, while Suleyman will outline how health systems around the world are grappling with the challenge of delivering better patient outcomes and experience with fewer resources.
"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," Kubaisi said.
According to Kubaisi, the summit will also feature nine research papers that highlight some of the most pressing challenges in global healthcare.
For the first time, WISH will also report on its local and global impact of issues 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.
Kubaisi added,"We have a number of projects that we have planed after the summit finishes. They are similar to the Smart Clinic that will help improve the capacity of the healthcare in Qatar. These are projects that will have a direct impact on the Qatari population.
"Many of the research topics that are featured and highlighted this year will be applied locally because that is what WISH does; it harnesses global expertise for the benefit of the Qatari population.
Talking about the Smart Clinic, Kubaisi said that WISH supported the project to bring accountable care to Qatar by aligning patient care with what each patient needs.
He said,"This is the pilot project and when there is a concept that this works, then it will be applied everywhere in Qatar. We work closely with Qatar's healthcare institutions and leaders to develop policies that will help Qatari's in managing some autism and dementia conditions and supporting families."
