Another edition of the much-anticipated WISH summit is being held in Qatar under the theme “Healing the Future”. Top innovators in the field of healthcare from around the world, who are working on projects that will change the future of the industry through cutting-edge innovations, have arrived in Doha to showcase their works at the Summit, which started yesterday in the presence of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.
Every edition of the biennial World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) summit, which is in its sixth edition this year, has been a major fixture in the global healthcare calendar for policymakers, researchers, innovators, and healthcare professionals to interact and brainstorm about the latest trends, policies, and innovations in the industry and how these steps will shape the future of healthcare.
As this year’s summit is being held very close to the World Cup, the sporting extravaganza Qatar will be hosting next month, one of the topics that will be discussed is the potential health legacy of the tournament. Other topics include the post-COVID-19 legacy, disability and accessibility, and wellbeing. Sections on post-COVID-19 legacy are very topical and important healthcare issues, which need urgent addressing as the entire world, irrespective of their economic standing, was shaken completely by the pandemic and had the entire world panicking and desperately searching for an escape route.
While topics like ‘Building health system resilience’ and ‘Future Hospitals’ address the pandemic directly, sections like “Mental health of health and care workers” and “Vaccine and pharmaceutical innovation” will also throw light on how we faced the difficult days, what better we can do and how to prepare for such adversities.
“Each panel discussion is underpinned by an evidence-based policy report drafted ahead of the summit by industry experts that offers concrete policy recommendations for governments, aimed at making healthcare more accessible, equitable and affordable,” a statement by WISH said.
The popular Agora discussion sessions, which are based on the traditional Greek assembly places where community members would meet to exchange news, are back this year and will see dynamic conversations held between select expert speakers and the audience.
Each Agora will examine a particularly challenging and timely issue facing the industry including questions like “Is COVID-19 fatigue making us complacent and does a desire to move on risk us sleepwalking into the next pandemic?” and “Workplace stress in the digital age: are we coping?”, which are of utmost relevance today.
WISH 2022 will also bring about major innovations and policy directions like the earlier editions and will help navigate the future of healthcare better as it always did.
