Dear friends,

As we enter August, a time for summer relaxation for many in the Northern hemisphere, global uncertainties in politics, climate, and ongoing health challenges remain unresolved. These circumstances highlight the crucial need for our collective efforts and the strength of international cooperation. The shared commitment to enhancing global health remains paramount.

With the World Health Summit 2024 approaching on October 13-15, I encourage you to register and explore the program, now available online. This year’s Summit will again convene leaders, experts, and diverse stakeholders to address pressing health issues, facilitate meaningful discourse and catalyze solutions for global health. If you haven't already, secure your place and prepare to join us in Berlin for this pivotal event.

As a very good starting point for the discussions in October, check out the perspectives and expertise of our esteemed WHS council members and leaders from the M8 Alliance network institutions as part of the "WHS Views" on the WHS 2024 leitmotif "Building Trust for a Healthier World." 

I look forward to welcoming you in Berlin for the World Health Summit 2024 and fruitful discussions around the issues of trust, health, and peace within our global community in the spirit of partnership and friendship for our common goals.

Stay safe, stay healthy!

Axel R. Pries
President
World Health Summit

On-Site Participation

WHS 2024 will be held from October 13-15 in Berlin. Secure your spot now for an immersive on-site experience. If you need a visa to attend, please register as soon as possible to ensure timely processing. You can register for on-site participation here.

Digital Participation

Join the World Health Summit 2024 online from anywhere in the world and experience the entire program for free, with no registration required. Follow all keynote sessions, panel discussions, and workshops live on the World Health Summit YouTube channel. To access each session, simply click on the session of your interest in the program online and get the broadcasting link.
 

Discover the WHS 2024 Program

The comprehensive program for WHS 2024 is now available online. Explore detailed schedules and choose the sessions that interest you the most.

Speaker Confirmations

Exciting speaker confirmations are rolling in! Visit the speaker confirmations page to see the distinguished lineup of global health leaders and experts who will be sharing their insights at WHS 2024.

For more information, visit the World Health Summit 2024 website.

We invite you to explore the perspectives of our World Health Summit experts in this year's edition of "WHS Views". Members of the WHS Council and the M8 Alliance leadership offer their perspective on this year's theme, "Building Trust for a Healthier World". Find a sneak peek below and more on the World Health Summit Views page.

For a short while there was hope that the negotiations for a pandemic agreement would turn the page and learn from the factors that had generated problems in the intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) process – on top of all the political and technical issues that still need to be resolved. The revised International Health Regulations (IHR) had been adopted at the World Health Assembly (WHA) and the INB meetings on July 16 and 17 at the WHO started with a sense of optimism on finding better decision-making processes - but they ended without the strong collective drive for solutions that many had hoped to achieve. Trust between countries has not yet been restored. The pandemic is ever more distant. The political will seems lacking. Discussion on increasing the participation of relevant stakeholders in the INB process showed this clearly. Developing countries are concerned that invited experts might be too close to the interests of developed countries (coming from their top-notch universities) – or too close to industry interests. China, Russia and Nigeria argued against increased transparency and the participation of non-state actors in the INB closed sessions. Some developing countries challenged the INB timeframe for its contradictions and felt pressured by developed countries: why a sense of urgency to push to conclude by November yet a refusal to meet in August? Meanwhile outside of conference rooms, opposition groups who fear a loss of sovereignty are challenging their governments to opt out of the IHR, others fear a powershift in the USA and want to complete the INB negotiations before this, and yet others fear the next pandemic. Clearly, it is politics that will define the INB process and the future of a pandemic accord.

Only 2% of board seats in nonprofit organizations are occupied by women from low-income countries. This is a key finding of the "Gaining Ground" report, published by Global Health 50/50 earlier this month, which provides an analysis of the gender-related policies and practices of 201 global organizations active in health. This statistic underscores the significant underrepresentation of women from these regions in global health leadership. The report highlights the stark disparity where men from the USA alone occupy 17% of these seats, far exceeding the representation of women from all low-income countries combined. This imbalance reflects broader issues of inequity in global health governance and the need for more inclusive and representative leadership structures.

Source: Global Health 50/50

We celebrate Lucy Gilson from the University of Cape Town and Johan Rockström from PIK - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research for receiving the Virchow Prize 2024. Awarded by our partner Virchow Foundation, this prize honors their holistic and systems-based approaches to human and planetary health. Their work has significantly influenced global policy and scientific understanding.

The award ceremony will take place on the eve of WHS 2024 (October 13-15 in Berlin).

Read more about the laureates

Charité Announces New PhD Program in Global Health

A new interdisciplinary PhD program is now accepting applications for its October start. The program offers a structured, English-language curriculum aimed at fostering scientific excellence and cross-border perspectives on global health. Apply by August 20, 2024.
Learn more here

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

World Health Summit 2024

Berlin, Germany & Digital 

October 13-15