Doha, Qatar: THE World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global initiative by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), has announced that its second summit will take place on 17 - 18 February 2015 in Doha, Qatar.
WISH inspires and diffuses healthcare innovation and best practice through a global network of high-level policymakers, academics and industry leaders. It remains closely aligned to the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation.
In preparation for the 2015 Summit, WISH announced the creation of six new research forums that aim to address some of the most challenging global health issues of our time. Chaired by internationally renowned experts, the forums will produce interdisciplinary, evidence-based reports on topics including Communicating Complex Health Messages, Delivering Affordable Cancer Care, Dementia, Diabetes, Patient Safety, and Wellbeing in Children and Young People.
Engineer Saad Al Muhannadi, President of Qatar Foundation, said: "Qatar Foundation is proud to have established the World Innovation Summit for Health, which aims to ensure impactful outcomes in healthcare innovation in Qatar, regionally, and globally.
"The inaugural summit in 2013 established a dynamic framework for creating a global community of healthcare leaders to find innovative solutions to the most important global health challenges. Building on this exceptional success, evidenced by the quality and influence of its published reports, the delivery of enhanced healthcare around the world is driving the wheels of innovation ever further. The international collaboration of the WISH stakeholders will surely achieve sustainable and tangible improvements to global healthcare policies and systems."
Professor The Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair of WISH and Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College of London, added: "Innovation is the answer to achieving better health for all of us, and the commitment to making this a reality at WISH 2013 was inspiring to witness. We need to understand what drives the implementation of innovation throughout global health systems, so WISH will continue to grow in ambition, impact and reach over the coming years."
The inaugural WISH summit, which took place in December 2013, brought together more than 1,000 delegates from 67 countries to discuss and debate practical, lasting and innovative solutions to global healthcare challenges.
Egbert Schillings, WISH's recently-appointed Chief Executive Officer, said: "I am joining WISH at an exciting time, as it evolves into a leading influence within the global healthcare system - not only through the Summit, but with action-driven communities that promise to accelerate the innovation cycle. In the coming months, we will be working hard to build on the success of last year's Summit by developing our global community of innovators and supporting research into the most urgent healthcare challenges."
Prior to joining WISH, Mr Schillings was Senior Vice President of Client Service for McKinsey's Leading Systems Network, convening international health systems for collective performance improvement. Prior to this, he served as Managing Director at Kaiser Permanente, the United States' largest healthcare maintenance organisation.
For further information about WISH, please visit www.wish-qatar.org and Twitter @WISH_Qatar
The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) is a global initiative by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF). The inaugural WISH Summit took place in Doha in 2013 and hosted more than 1,000 global healthcare leaders. Through annual Summits and an ambitious range of ongoing initiatives, WISH is creating a global community of leading innovators in healthcare policy, research and industry.