The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), convened a team of global experts to prepare a special report on Healthcare in Conflict Settings, to be presented at WISH 2018 in Doha later this year.

The report was announced at a WISH event at the University of Oxford’s Harris Manchester College recently, by Dr Mukesh Kapila, Chair of the WISH Healthcare in Conflict Zones Research Group. Dr Kapila, who is Professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs at the University of Manchester, was one of two special guest speakers at the event.

He was joined by Dr Mohammed Bin Ghanim Al Ali Al Maadheed, Chairman of Qatar Red Crescent, and one of the global experts who will contribute to the WISH report. Experts from Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), the International Rescue Committee, Humanity First, and World Health Organisation will also contribute.

Dr Kapila said he believes that we are capable of mitigating suffering, whether we know or not know how to end wars.

We live during a time of unprecedented challenges for humankind, and central to our well-being is healthcare. Just because you live in a warzone doesn’t mean that you have to live with ill health. I’m very keen that through WISH’s focus on Healthcare in Conflict Settings, we’ll spearhead a global effort to bring help and hope to tens of millions of people affected by conflict.’

According to Dr Al Maadheed, Qatar Red Crescent Society representatives work hard to provide medical and humanitarian support in some of the most difficult conflict environments in the world.

It’s vital that teams working to provide medical support in areas of conflict are able to go about their work in the safest possible conditions. I am therefore delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the WISH report on Healthcare in Conflict Settings, which I hope will produce findings that can have a positive impact on efforts to help those people around the world whose health is affected by conflict.’

The event was one of three that organised by WISH at the University of Oxford this April. Previously, the Qatar Foundation initiative used a lecture by Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind, UK’s leading mental health charity, to announce a report on anxiety and depression. The third event is a public lecture by Dr Mohammed Ghaly on Islamic ethics and palliative care at the Investcorp Lecture Theatre, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford.

WISH 2018 will once again gather global healthcare leaders in QNCC this November to highlight and address some of the world’s most pressing healthcare challenges. WISH, which hosts its showcase Doha summit biennially, has quickly established itself as a major highlight of the global healthcare calendar for thousands of high-level policy-makers, academics, and professionals who attend. It has also become a key platform for the dissemination of healthcare innovation and best practices.

WISH 2018 will feature nine research forums, each led by an internationally renowned expert in their field. Between them, the nine forums will highlight and address some of the world’s most pressing challenges across topics that cover medical, ethical, technological, and humanitarian aspects of healthcare.

For more information and updates about the upcoming event in November, visit wish.org.qa.

Cover Image: Dr Mukesh Kapila, Chair of the WISH Healthcare in Conflict Zones Research Group
Related Link: 
https://www.marhaba.qa/event/world-innovation-summit-health-2018/