World Health Summit Research Articles

Elevating global health together

The World Health Summit (WHS) is an international meeting for experts to discuss the most important issues facing global health care. The 2022 event was co-hosted by WHO, with more than 300 speakers and over 40 WHO experts. In his opening ceremony speech, WHO Director- General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus drew links between the first summit in 2009, which was the year of the H1N1 pandemic and today's backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He said that the theme of the 2022 WHS is 'taking global health to a new level' through a shared response and commitment, a new global architecture and a new global approach. He explained that this requires a new agreement based on 'a common vision, a new global health architecture that is coherent and inclusive, and a new global approach that prioritizes promoting health and preventing disease, rather than only treating the sick'. As such, a new agreement or global accord will be established, ensuring nations of the world commit to bringing this vision to life. Ghebreyesus said that this global accord will 'provide an essential framework and foundation for other initiatives to keep the world safe' and will be based on a shared commitment to solidarity and equity, with countries working together rather than in competition with each other. Indeed, the countries will be involved in negotiating the agreement and it will be implemented according to their respective national laws.

World Health Summit 2022: How to Achieve a Global Health Data Space

IN A ROUNDTABLE discussion at the World Health Summit (WHS) 2022, located in Berlin, Germany, and also available digitally, experts in the field of health data debated barriers, opportunities, and next steps for achieving a global health data space. Key concepts such as anonymisation, infrastructure, data quality, and data standardisation were analysed by the expert representatives from pioneering international data projects, including the World Health Organization (WHO), EBRAINS, and ERA-NET NEURON.

Neglected epidemics: The role of oral public health to advance global health.

This was the first time that an oral health panel was included in the agenda of World Health Summit meetings. The present document is the report of the panel of “Neglected Epidemics: The Role of Oral Public Health to Advance Global Health” in the 7th Regional World Health Summit (WHS), 29-30 April, 2019 Kish Island, […]

Health protection and territorial health organization: The figure of the family and community nurse (IFeC).

The improvement of health represents a goal for all countries in the world in a global way and, compared to earlier stages of development, there is a significant focus by the public health system on community and home-based services in particular. This objective was reaffirmed during the last World Health Summit (May 2021), at which the leaders of the G20 countries, together with other member states, signed the "Declaration of Rome". The paper contains the study of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has determined on the organization of the health system, through the study of the data provided by the main national and international organizations in the health field. It emerged that the field of personal, family and community care are certainly an area of growth for nursing, which also in the European context, is showing an increase importance given to services and care activities outside the hospital and home in particular. In all of this, the roles that nurses can assume are differentiated and articulated. In the complexity of this perspective, families and community seem to emerge as a point of reference for a nursing care that is certainly going through a decisive moment in the slow, but inexorable path towards the emancipation of its disciplinary status and the development of its ability to provide new, original and autonomous responses to the needs of the assisted population.

Health for all through digital collaboration

2020 was an eventful year, with the Brexit vote and the COVID-19 pandemic. With health professionals focused on the pandemic, treatments for other conditions have fallen from the priority list and many of the effects of the pandemic could be everlasting. The European Commission's Health and Food Safety Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides delivered a keynote speech to the World Health Summit 2020 in which she discussed how best to achieve health for all through digital collaboration. She acknowledged that the impact of the virus has further highlighted the importance of digital solutions and outlined the focus of her intervention which expanded across three key areas: 'how digital solutions enable better health outcomes; what the EU is doing; and what we can do to build global collaboration in this area'. She said that digital solutions are key to making effective use of data as they 'allow better use of health data in research and innovation, enabling stronger and more resilient health and social care systems'. Kyriakides also acknowledged the challenges that digital tools present in the form of privacy and personal data concerns. There are plans to create a common European Health Data Space (EHDS) to 'foster collaboration and to harness data for better healthcare, better research, and better evidence-based policy making for the benefit of patients'. Kyriakides said that digital tools have the potential to benefit countries across the globe and that the 'strategic and innovative use of digital health tools can make an important contribution to essential international objectives'.

Diverse and Complex Challenges to Migrant and Refugee Mental Health: Reflections of the M8 Alliance Expert Group on Migrant Health.

Forced migration is likely to continue to grow in the coming years due to climate change, disease outbreaks, conflict, and other factors. There are a huge number of challenges to maintaining good health, and specifically good mental health, among migrants at all stages of migration. It is vital to fully understand these diverse challenges so that we can work towards overcoming them. In 2017, as a response to the growing health challenges faced by migrants and refugees, the M8 Alliance created an expert group focussing on migrant and refugee health. The group meets annually at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, and this article is based on the discussions that took place at the third annual meeting (6–7 June 2019) and a special session on “Protecting the Mental Health of Refugees and Migrants,” which took place on 27 October at the World Health Summit 2019 in Berlin. Our discussions are also supported by supplementary literature to present the diverse and complex challenges to the mental health of migrants and refugees. We conclude with some lessons learned and hope for the future.

Conference Report: Global Health Security Alliance (GLoHSA), a Product of the World Health Summit.

Over the past decade, the World Health Summit (WHS) has provided a global platform for policy-makers and decision-makers to interact with academics and practitioners on global health. Recently the WHS adopted health security into their agenda for transnational disease risks (eg, Ebola and antimicrobial resistance) that increasingly threaten multiple sectors. Global health engagement (GHE) focuses efforts across interdisciplinary and interorganizational lines to identify critical threats and provide rapid deployment of key resources at the right time for addressing health security risks. As a product of subject matter experts convening at the WHS, a special side-group has organically risen with leadership and coordination from the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in support of GHE activities across governmental, academic, and industry partners. Through novel approaches and targeted methodology that maximize outcomes and streamline global health operational process, the Global Health Security Alliance (GloHSA) was born. This short conference report describes in more detail the GloHSA.

Science Has to Take Responsibility. 10 Years World Health Summit-The Road to Better Health for All.

Science Has to Take Responsibility. 10 Years World Health Summit-The Road to Better Health for All.

Current Endoscopic Methods in Bariatric Surgery

The 2011 World Health Summit reported the epidemics of diabetes mellitus and morbid obesity. In Germany, 62.7% of the population have a BMI above 25 kg/m² and 21.9% above 30 kg/m². 10.5 patients per 100,000 inhabitants were treated with metabolic surgery, whereas in France 86.0 and in Sweden 114.8 patients per 100,000 inhabitants were given surgery. The development of endoscopic methods leads to the opportunity to bridge patients with a high risk profile before operation. Endoscopy is an excellent procedure with few complications. However, these methods need a selective and specialised concept of treatment. Endoscopy in metabolic surgery requires expertise in both endoscopy and in the techniques of metabolic surgery. The aim of the present paper is to report the new methods of endoscopy in the treatment of obese patients, on the basis of the literature and our own experience.

Ilona Kickbusch: global health reformer

Ilona Kickbusch: global health reformer

The InterAcademy Partnership's Young Physician Leaders: A Leadership Training and Networking Program

The research, clinical, public health, and health policy areas of the health sector all need effective leaders. However, many young professionals learn their leadership skills by trial and error as they advance through their careers. Though some countries are making efforts to incorporate leadership training programs into their medical curricula, the provision of such training is available in too few countries.To fill this gap and contribute to building capacity for future leadership among health professionals worldwide, the InterAcademy Partnership for Health launched its Young Physician Leaders (YPL) program in 2011. The program provides a tailored workshop on leadership; the opportunity, via the World Health Summit, to engage with global leaders in the field of medicine and health; a matchmaking mentorship scheme; a network of peers with whom to share experiences and exchange best practices; and an interactive website to post real-time professional information and gain visibility both nationally and internationally.To date, some 107 YPL, nominated by some 30 academies of science and medicine and six other institutions, have participated in the scheme.In addition, some 30 YPL alumni from about 20 countries were selected to attend the recent World Health Assembly (WHA69). As well as gaining first-hand experience of the decision-making processes of the WHA, the event helped build their individual capacities because they had the opportunity to link with their national decision makers in global health policy.Though there is room for expansion of the program, it has been well received as an approach to supporting the leadership development of a new generation of physicians who will eventually lead clinical, educational, and research institutions and contribute to their societies and globally to improve health for all.

New Voices in Global Health 2014

The second World Health Summit regional meeting was held in São Paulo, Brazil, in April this year following a successful first regional meeting in Singapore in 2013. More than 1000 participants from 30 countries took part in the meeting in Brazil and discussed global health challenges, especially those relevant to Latin America. Five goals were articulated by the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, Universities and National Academies in São Paulo in the following areas: better health for populations with particular attention to a healthy life expectancy and social inequalities; policies that address determinants of health related to urbanisation; strengthening research and development capacity in the region; ensuring true universal health coverage; and adopting an educational system for health professionals that addresses local priorities. As part of the regional meeting, the five best abstracts were chosen from more than 400 submissions for oral presentation in Brazil, continuing The Lancet's programme of New Voices in Global Health. These five abstracts are presented in this booklet together with five further abstracts that were chosen from 40 posters exhibited during the regional meeting. Many, if not all, of the regionally presented goals will be taken up again at the main World Health Summit in Berlin in October. This year's central topics are climate change and health, healthy ageing, healthy cities and disease prevention, universal health coverage, and medical education. The ten remaining abstracts in this booklet were chosen from 126 submissions and will be presented at the Berlin meeting. Now more than ever, a new generation of researchers needs to take up the enormous challenges posed by a rapidly changing world. Achieving a healthy future for all, and a healthy planet, is not a given nor is it an easy task, despite (or perhaps because of) rapid development and technological advances. Inequities are likely to increase with climate change and sociodemographic changes, unless policies are targeted specifically to the most vulnerable people. New health threats will continue to emerge in both infectious and non-communicable diseases. Solutions will be needed both at a local and a global level. Research alone is not sufficient. Policymakers need to listen carefully and work closely with researchers, and researchers need to translate their findings into science-based advocacy. Young enthusiastic researchers are the key to continued sustainable progress towards the health and wellbeing of populations worldwide and to a healthy, sustainable planet. The new voices in this booklet give hope that the global community has such committed and passionate researchers.

Offline: What is the World Health Summit for?

The second regional meeting of the World Health Summit convenes this week at the Medical School of the University of São Paulo (April 6–8). It follows a successful regional conference held in Singapore a year ago. In 2015, the Summit will move to Kyoto, Japan. The Brazilian hosts at this year's meeting are celebrating Latin American learning in five areas—healthy life expectancy, urban health, universal health coverage, health education, and research capacity. Region-focused global health events are rare. They matter because they provide an opportunity for global lessons to be drawn from local experiences. The Lancet is one of several “media partners” to the World Health Summit (Sabine Kleinert and I also sit on the Summit's Council). We have been strong supporters of the idea of a World Health Summit since its inception in 2009. But, as a critical friend, one must question its current value and direction. There is a sense among some partners that the Summit is drifting (and indeed diminishing) from year-to-year without evident achievement or advantage. Does the world need a World Health Summit? What is the World Health Summit for?We thank Richard Horton for his thoughtful critique (April 5, p 1195)1 of the World Health Summit and the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, Universities, and National Academies. As a supporter of both activities since their earliest days, The Lancet's input is especially important to us. Full-Text PDF

New Voices in Global Health

The World Health Summit, held in Berlin, celebrates its fi fth anniversary this year. It has survived all the dangers of early childhood. Indeed, earlier this year the fi rst regional meeting of the World Health Summit took place in Singapore. During this gathering, the University of Makerere, Uganda, became the fi rst member of the M8 Alliance from sub-Saharan Africa. The M8 Alliance is a collaboration between academic health centres, universities, and national academies. Its vision is to harness academic excellence to improve global health. Following a successful fi rst event in 2012, The Lancet, together with the M8 Alliance, issued a further call for abstracts to fi nd the most inspiring “New Voices in Global Health”. Young researchers from 39 countries have submitted 122 abstracts. Five outstanding abstracts for oral presentation and 13 abstracts for poster presentation at the Summit have been chosen through careful peer review. This booklet contains those 18 abstracts. This year’s topics range from short message services to improve infant feeding practices in China, to a global economic and epidemiological analysis of investments in cholera vaccines; from research on universal health coverage in the Palestinian territory, to a key question for all of us: can we change research to change health? Research is also the focus of WHO’s World Health Report 2013, which will be presented and discussed at the Summit. Choosing the theme of “Research for Universal Health Coverage” is timely, since the UN is moving towards the fi nal stages of devising a post-2015 framework. The report of the HighLevel Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda proved that the global health community still needs to do considerably more work to ensure that health is fi rmly anchored in life after the Millennium Development Goals. This year, the Summit welcomes the contribution of Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. In his message, Barroso notes that “there is no better indicator of the true wealth of a society than the state of its health systems, their eff ectiveness and inclusiveness”. The World Health Summit 2013 will focus on this interplay between health and prosperity, development and inequality, research and education, and on the role of health in all aspects of foreign policy. The voices we showcase here will send out strong signals that a new generation of scientists has already embraced and responded to this urgent call.

Science: a new generation

Science: a new generation

New Voices in Global Health and sustainable development

The World Health Summit, an international meeting held in Berlin, Germany, to exchange ideas and approaches to urgent global health challenges, is now in its fourth year. The Summit is convened under the auspices of the M8 Alliance—a group of academic institutions and partners founded at the first summit under the leadership of Germany and France that has expanded to include the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (London, UK) and the University of Montreal (Canada).

Steve Wesselingh: the wizard of Oz

Thinking of a title for a profile can be a tricky business, but Steve Wesselingh, who hails from Australia, brought out the worst in The Lancet. “Steve Wesselingh: g'day M8” was briefly considered (he is Co-President with Detlev Ganten of both the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centres and Medical Universities and the World Health Summit 2011). “Steve Wesselingh: the Aussie rules” was also in contention (he played Australian rules football, and has recently taken up the role of Executive Director at Australia's most ambitious medical research enterprise, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute).

Science to policy: M8 Alliance invites policy makers to step in

A year ago, we introduced the M8 Alliance and called for academic medicine to take more responsibility for global health. The M8 Alliance connects leading medical universities and national academies worldwide to create a network that actively seeks dialogue with governmental representatives, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, civil society, and health-related industry on specific global health challenges. 1 Adli M Kleinert S Smith SK Ganten D Academic medicine must take its global role: the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers and Medical Universities. Lancet. 2010; 376: 1197-1198 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (8) Google Scholar Steve Wesselingh: the wizard of OzThinking of a title for a profile can be a tricky business, but Steve Wesselingh, who hails from Australia, brought out the worst in The Lancet. “Steve Wesselingh: g'day M8” was briefly considered (he is Co-President with Detlev Ganten of both the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centres and Medical Universities and the World Health Summit 2011). “Steve Wesselingh: the Aussie rules” was also in contention (he played Australian rules football, and has recently taken up the role of Executive Director at Australia's most ambitious medical research enterprise, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute). Full-Text PDF

Big city blues: health disparities within the world's largest urban centres

The enormity of the challenge — and the gulf between rhetoric and reality — was immediately evident. A well-heeled British delegate stepped up to the microphone at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, and chided Dr. Hans Dohmann, municipal secretary of health for the city of Rio de

The short answer is "more"

More money, more “implementation” aid and research, as well as more of a concerted international effort to tackle the explosive growth in the incidence of noncommunicable diseases in the developing world — all have fast emerged as the three central themes of the World Health Summit in Berlin,