World Health Summit
The World Health Summit is an international strategic forum for global health that convenes stakeholders from science, business, politics, and civil society to discuss key challenges in global healthcare.
In addition to the conference in Berlin, the World Health Summit features annual WHS Regional Meetings held in different parts of the world as well as activities throughout the year such as the WHS Global Health Dialogues, which aim to foster exchange among decision-makers and thought leaders in smaller settings.
The World Health Summit’s academic basis is the [|WHS Academic Alliance], a network of academic health centers, universities and national academies that organizes the WHS Regional Meetings and international initiatives in the global health sector.
History
The founders recognized that whilst similar gatherings of leaders were well established in fields such as economic development and technology, a global forum did not exist for medical practice, research and health care systems.The initiative for the summit came from Detlev Ganten, former CEO of Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, with the aim of bringing together political decision-makers, with scientists and healthcare experts to jointly develop strategies for sustainable healthcare on a scientific and medical background. The first conference took place in October 2009 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin under the theme “The Evolution of Medicine” and attracted approximately 700 participants to Berlin.
The summit was established under the patronage of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy. The patronage by the German Chancellor was continued by Olaf Scholz as well as that of the French President by Francois Hollande, and by Emmanuel Macron. They were joined in 2013 by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. Jean-Claude Juncker and Ursula von der Leyen continued this patronage until 2021. Since 2019, the World Health Organization's Director-General Tedros Adhanom joined as patron.
In 2022, the World Health Summit was co-hosted with the World Health Organization, bringing together a wide range of high-level global health stakeholders. Key topics included “Climate Change and Health”, “Pandemic Preparedness”, “Food Security”, “Digital Transformation”, “Sustainable Health Systems”, and “The Role of Germany, the G7 and G20 in Global Health.” The event featured 60 sessions with 400 speakers and attracted 4,000 participants on site and 60,000 online from 140 nations.
Impact
The World Health Summit has been the platform for a number of major global health initiatives and funding commitments to international organizations and programs. In 2024, a WHO Investment Round event at the World Health Summit secured $700 million for global health, with an additional $300 million pledged in advance by the European Union and the African Union. These funds are intended to help prevent 40 million avoidable deaths within four years. In 2023, a donor event for the Global Financing Facility raised $250 million to support the “Deliver the Future” campaign, which aims to provide essential healthcare to women, children, and adolescents in hard-to-reach communities. In 2022, $2.6 billion were pledged towards the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.List of all World Health Summits
International network and activities
The World Health Summit understands itself as an international strategic platform for global health. It holds close ties with international initiatives and organizations, facilitating year-round cooperation in projects and exchange programs over various world regions.WHS Academic Alliance
The WHS Academic Alliance is an academic network of institutions of education and research, including national academies. It was officially inaugurated in 2009 on occasion of the first World Health Summit.The WHS Academic Alliance consists of around 30 member institutions worldwide, including the InterAcademy Partnership, which represents national academies of medicine and sciences in over 100 countries. According to the WHS Academic Alliance goals, the network seeks to improve global health and works with political and economic decision-makers and civil society to develop science-based solutions for health challenges worldwide. It was established as a permanent platform for framing future considerations of global medical developments and health challenges.
A key role of the WHS Academic Alliance is to contribute to each World Health Summit by participating in the definition of topics, and the development of the program and organizing the WHS Regional Meetings. The International Presidency of the World Health Summit rotates annually among its members. The Alliance also publishes joint declarations and organizes events such as expert meetings in different regions of the world. The secretariat of the WHS Academic Alliance is hosted by the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany.
Members of the WHS Academic Alliance (as of June 2025)
- Africa Academy for Public Health, Tanzania
- Aga Khan University, Pakistan and East Africa
- American University of Beirut, Libanon
- Ashoka University, India
- Association of Academic Health Centers International
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, China
- Coimbra Health, University of Coimbra, Portugal
- Consortium of Universities for Global Health
- Global Network for Academic Public Health
- Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Canada
- InterAcademy Partnership
- Istanbul University, Turkey
- Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, China
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
- Makerere University, Uganda
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India
- Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, USA
- Monash University, Australia
- National Taiwan University, Taiwan
- National University of Singapore
- NIMS University, India
- Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
- Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health, ENSP, Brazil
- Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
- Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Université Paris Cité, France
- University of Montreal, Canada
WHS Regional Meetings
The WHS Regional Meetings are organized by the institution that holds the rotating presidency of the WHS Academic Alliance in the respective year. They evolved from the international planning meetings traditionally held in April with the alliance members.
| Year | Host Institution | Country | Themes | International President |
| 2026 | Aga Khan University East Africa | Kenya | Lukoye Atwoli, The Aga Khan University Kenya | |
| 2025 | NIMS University und Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Ashoka University | India | India | Balvir S. Tomar, NIMS University |
| 2024 | Monash University | Australia | “Shape the Future of Health across Asia and the Pacific“ | Christina Mitchell and Sophia Zoungas, Monash University |
| 2023 | George Washington University Milken School of Public Health und Association of Academic Health Centers | USA | “Bridging the Science to Policy Gap for Global Health“ | Adnan Hyder, George Washington University |
| 2022 | Sapienza University of Rome | Italy | “Vaccine Development and Policies: Challenges and Strategies“, “Healthcare Systems“, “Metabolic Syndrome and Chronic Diseases“, “New Technologies and Personalized Therapies“, “New Frontiers in Healthcare Promotion“ | Eugenio Gaudio and Luciano Saso, Sapienza University of Rome |
| 2021 | Makerere University | Uganda | “The Health of the African Youth, Advancing Technology for Health in Africa“, “Infectious Diseases and Global Health Security“, “Stemming the Tide of Non-Communicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries“, “Inter-Sectoral Action for Health“ | Charles Ibingira, Makerere University College of Health Sciences |
| 2020 | ||||
| 2019 | Teheran University of Medical Sciences | Iran | “United together for global health“ | Ali Jafarian, Teheran University of Medical Sciences |
| 2018 | University of Coimbra, Coimbra University Hospital | Portugal | “Managing Infectious Diseases“, “Governance for Health Equity in Low & Middle Income Countries“, “Opportunities and Challenges in Translating Innovation into Healthcare“, “Biomedical Education for a Changing World“ | João Gabriel Silva, University of Coimbra |
| 2017 | Universität Montreal, Montreal Clinical Research Institute | Canada | “New Frontiers in Medical Treatment“, “Health and Healthcare Delivery for Specific Groups“, “Environmental, Social and Cultural Determinants of Health“, “Medical Education for Optimal Healthcare“ | Hélène Boisjoly, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal |
| 2016 | University of Geneva, Geneva University Hospitals | Switzerland | “Global Health: Sustainable and Affordable Innovation in Healthcare” | Antoine Flahault, Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva |
| 2015 | Kyoto University | Japan | “Challenges in a Rapidly Aging Society“, “Preparedness for & Resilience after Disasters“, “Fostering New Leadership“ | Shunichi Fukuhara, School of Public Health, Kyoto University |
| 2014 | University of São Paulo | Brazil | “Healthy Life Expectancy“, “Urban Health / Health in Megacities“, “Increased Research Capacity to Incorporate Technologies“, “Management of Health Systems to Ensure Universal Coverage“, “Health Education“ | José Otávio Costa Auler Jr., Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo |
| 2013 | National University of Singapore | Singapore | “The Impact of Health on Asian Economies“. Innovations in Health in Asia“, “Financing Health Care in Asia“, “Emerging Health Threats in Asia“ | John Eu-Li Wong, National University of Singapore |