CEO of WISH, Dr. Slim Slama
Doha: The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) has over the years grown to emerge as a major platform that is playing a crucial role in advancing global health by fostering innovation, promoting evidence-based policy, advocating for vulnerable populations, building global partnerships, and elevating Qatar’s global health profile, the CEO of WISH, Dr. Slim Slama, has said.
Speaking to The Peninsula yesterday on the sidelines of the two-day event that ends today, Dr. Slama, who was until recently the Unit Head of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) management at the World Health Organization (WHO), noted that this year’s edition is particularly important considering the crisis in parts of the region and its adverse impacts on the healthcare sector.
“WISH has really been able to frame the issue that matters and also bring the views from the region into global perspective by being able to be at the pulse of what’s happening. WISH has also given a voice to those who are unheard, especially from the perspective of healthcare, and it has continuously helped in highlighting not only the challenges in the healthcare sector but also potential solutions—what people are doing on the ground and the effort that is there, among others,” he said.
The 2024 WISH Summit, with its theme “Humanizing Health: Conflict, Equity, and Resilience,” is addressing a number of issues, including the impact of conflict on healthcare, health inequities, and building resilience in healthcare systems.
The Summit underscores the need for health innovation that supports everyone, leaves no one behind, and builds resilience, particularly for vulnerable communities and in regions affected by armed conflict.
Dr. Slama noted that despite all those crises, there is a way forward if “we collectively bring our wisdom and our technical expertise and also mobilize different sectors, including the diplomacy that we have here in Qatar, which is unique.”
“Research and development, health diplomacy, and peacebuilding are critical components that we aim to unify among the various stakeholders present in Qatar, as well as our international networks. Our objective is to translate this collective effort into concrete actions. This includes addressing issues such as health protection in conflict zones, ethical considerations in biotechnology, and enhancing access to services for the most vulnerable populations. Each of these topics necessitates our ongoing engagement, requiring us to go back to them and be able to actually report back in one or two years,” he said.
Speaking on his priorities for WISH, Dr. Slama said, “Our priority is really consolidation, bringing also the innovation in a way that is much more embedded. We have a national development vision. There was a lot of movement also happening in Qatar at the moment in the area of research and development and innovation. So I think we would like to maintain this in line with the national agenda and find a balance between supporting the domestic agenda, as we have just adopted a new national strategy, but also being relevant globally in those kinds of discussions and conversations.”
Further highlighting the impact of WISH, he noted that WISH has continued to produce high-quality research and policy papers that inform evidence-based decision-making in healthcare.
“These reports often address critical issues like mental health, aging populations, and non-communicable diseases, and WISH has also continued to highlight the needs of vulnerable populations, such as those affected by conflict, refugees, and people with disabilities. This advocacy helps to ensure that these groups receive the care and support they need,” he mentioned.
This year’s WISH is featuring more than 200 experts in health speaking about evidence-based ideas and practices in healthcare innovation to address the world’s most urgent global health challenges.
For 2024, WISH has entered a strategic partnership with the WHO – a partnership that involves collaboration in the development of a series of evidence-based reports and policy papers, as well as the support of WHO in a post-summit implementation strategy.
