Newsletter 06/2023: WHS 2023 Countdown to Registration, WHS Views, Spotlight Global Health

Dear friends,

At this month's WHS Global Health Dialogue "Harnessing the Power of Digital Technologies for Health", our regular high-level dinner discussions series, a diverse group of leaders discussed digital technologies for health, a central topic in the WHS 2023 program.

There is a noticeable urgency to collaborate across borders and across sectors for common digital solutions among all stakeholders while acknowledging the need for interoperability and data privacy. The Ambassador of Rwanda to Germany provided vivid examples of how political will and enabling policies can catalyze the use of digital technologies in health.

The World Health Summit is fortunate to have support by diverse experts from around the world within the M8 Alliance, the academic network of the World Health Summit, as well as in the World Health Summit Council, our strategic advisory board. To highlight their expertise, the new #WHSViews campaign just kicked off and features their insights, inspiring ideas, and forward-thinking opinions. I invite you to dive into their insightful answers to pressing global health questions (more below). 

The preparations for the World Health Summit 2023 are well under way and the online program and registration will go live in just a few more days. In the meantime, lots of information on WHS 2023 is already on the WHS website: speakers, central topics, program overview, patrons and more.

We look forward to welcoming you to Berlin, October 15-17 – make sure to check the World Health Summit website as well as our social media channels to not miss the registration kick-off.

Stay safe and healthy!

WORLD HEALTH SUMMIT 2023: 
LOOK FORWARD TO PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION

WHS 2023 Online Program 

The online program with dates, times, session titles and descriptions as well as confirmed speakers will go live in the upcoming days. Check the World Health Summit website and stay up to date via Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook to not miss the latest program news.

WHS 2023 Registration

We are in the final stages before opening the registration for WHS 2023. Make sure to follow the World Health Summit on social media to be among the first to register for on-site participation in Berlin. 

Speaker Confirmations

Visit the speaker page on our website to get the latest overview of who will be speaking at WHS 2023. 

Get the latest news on the World Health Summit 2023 #WHS2023 taking place October 15-17 in Berlin and online.

With our new format World Health Summit Views, we would like to introduce you to the World Health Summit experts: Members of the WHS Council and the M8 Alliance leadership share their expertise on key questions in global health. What are the pressing challenges, the important demands to policy makers and the international community and how can we achieve Health for All? Read forward-thinking insights from thought leaders in global health on the World Health Summit Views page

Leaders in digital health at the latest WHS Global Health Dialogue perceived a noticeable urgency to collaborate across borders and across sectors for common digital solutions among all stakeholders. While there is need for interoperability and data privacy, "the opportunity cost of not using data is far too high." The experts from different sectors also came to the conclusion: Digital technologies can be a key driver towards Universal Health Coverage and health equity, yet much remains to be done to achieve these goals.

More information on the WHS Global Health Dialogues page

In the last week of June, we heard that political clashes over abortion are endangering the funding of PEPFAR, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, one of the largest global health programs in the world. This reflects the trend that issues of gender and sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) are ever more holding back progress in global health.

In many parts of the world, these rights are under threat from restrictive laws and policies, as well as social norms – it impacts on the work of WHO and other UN organization bodies as decision on UHC and PHC are hampered by diverging positions on SRHR. During COVID-19, violence against women and other marginalized groups has risen in all parts of the world but the proportion of funding received in the UN’s appeals has dropped, in a similar trend funding for essential SRHR services is often the first to be cut in humanitarian responses.

This threatens to undo years of progress in global health and – as IPPF states – "millions of the world's most vulnerable people, especially women and girls, will be consigned to a bleak and uncertain future". 

German Ministry of Health: Shaping Global Health Policy Together

The German political leadership role in global health with a variety of partners, including the World Health Summit, is subject of an article by the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG). The BMG and WHS have been partners for multiple years and share the goal to promote an open and interdisciplinary dialogue on health in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Visit the In the Media page to read more

"One Health": Climate Change Increasingly Endangers Health

"We have to get out of our comfort zone", was World Health Summit president Axel Pries' demand in a radio interview with rbb Inforadio on One Health and the climate change effects on health. 

Listen to or read the full interview (German only)

German Alliance for Global Health Research: Annual Symposium

Our partner, the German Alliance for Global Health Research (GLOHRA), welcomed more than 150 global health researchers from across Germany to GLOHRA Day 2023, which featured presentations on research supported by GLOHRA and great networking opportunities.

Read more on GLOHRA Day 2023

Who’s behind the World Health Summit? Let's introduce members of the Berlin office. Here is part four: 

Check out the next newsletter to meet more team members and visit our website to view all.

Check out the latest info, recent projects, and upcoming events on the Charité Center for Global Health website

World Health Summit 2023 

JW Marriott Hotel Berlin
Stauffenbergstraße 26
10785 Berlin, Germany
& Digital