Doha: The 2020 edition of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) exchanged knowledge, innovation, and policy-driven solutions designed to help deliver healthcare in an efficient and cost-effective manner to improve and save lives through discussion over five days.
Held under theme ‘One World, Our Health’, WISH 2020 concluded with a call to advance innovation and global collaboration to overcome healthcare challenges. It maintained a focus on the most urgent global healthcare challenges amid the focus on responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event staged an interactive Innovation Hub using the latest in virtual technology.
Featuring more 300 global speakers and 100 sessions, attendees heard from international health ministers, scientists, academics, public health leaders, and policymakers. Also, more than 15 policy-focused research reports were released over the course of the five-day summit.
Delivering a keynote speech at the closing session of the fifth edition of Qatar Foundation’s WISH 2020 summit, the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth shared with attendees how the small but connected island nation succeeded in containing COVID-19.
Mauritius hosts over 1.3 million tourists annually and has a relatively ageing population with a high percentage of diabetes and cardiovascular morbidity.
“Considering our circumstances, our response has been heralded as one of the most efficient in the world as we managed to contain in a matter of six weeks, the virus which reached our shores on the March 18,” said Jugnauth.
According to him, Mauritius’ success rested on a multi-layered response that featured the implementation of strict protocols with regard to sanitary measures at entry points and a very strict policy of PCR testing, quarantine, isolation, and treatment as part of the government’s containment strategy.
Mauritius is providing significant economic, income and job support to affected sectors of the economy to ensure that the country weathers the challenging times.
The most expansive of its biennial summits to date, WISH 2020 Global had curated a packed programme for the conference with each day featuring a strong line up of policy-driven content through panel sessions, policy briefings and roundtable events that invite active participation, covering the core topics that are at the top of the global healthcare agenda.
WISH 2020 called for addressing disparities in healthcare that have deepened during the pandemic to accelerate new modes of care through digital health solutions; and to focus more on children’s health, especially in conflict or trauma situations. Climate change was addressed as a growing emergency while the role of education in healthcare was brought to the forefront.
WISH 2020 covered research areas, including digital technologies and mental health, the role of schools in child health, health challenges of major sporting events, climate change, and each chaired by recognised experts in the field.
In her closing remark, CEO of WISH Sultana Afdhal, said, “This summit has powerfully demonstrated that there are many other pressing issues, including climate change, that continue to urgently require our focus and expertise and that collaboration is the key to solving many global healthcare issues. Although WISH 2020 is now concluding, our work to highlight and engage health does not.”
At WISH 2020, innovators and health entrepreneurs were showcased in an expansive ‘Innovation Hub’ exhibition space. The exhibition featured organisations committed to building a healthier world, including the US-based The Carter Center, UK charity Save The Children, and Unicef.
The summit also acted as the platform for launch of the French translation of the world’s first paediatric blast injury field manual, a project undertaken by WISH for Save The Children, with translation provided by the Translation and Interpreting Institute of Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Networking sessions and other activities were held in the Innovation Hub, which had an exhibition space for WISH innovators and summit partners.
Participants also had full access to a library, a cinema, and a photo gallery, allowing them to experience an immersive virtual summit experience.
