PHOTO CREDIT: World Health Summit
Berlin, 14 October 2025
World Health Summit, the global event that brings together mandarins of science, politics, civil society and the private sector ended in Berlin, the German Capital today.
This year’s summit, under the patronage of the German Federal Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron and the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, attracted over 4,000 participants onsite as well as over 40,000 participants online.
A total of 23 ministers of health from 18 countries and over 400 expert speakers took part in the summit held at the prestigious Inter-Continental Hotel in the centre of Berlin.
The three-day summit brought together leaders and decision-makers from politics, the scientific community, the private sector and civil society organizations to brain-storm on key issues surrounding global health. The summit also sought to lay the foundations of a New Global Health Architecture.
At this year’s World Health Summit, delegates laid major emphasis on Women’s Health, which, most agree was synonymous with Global Wealth.
“Women’s health is both a measure and a driver of collective progress. While women and girls represent half of the world’s population, their health remains chronically underfunded and underprioritized – an afterthought in research and healthcare design,” explained Diene Keita, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) during the Summit.
While global funding for sexual and reproductive health Research and Development (R&D) nearly doubled between 2018 and 2023, less than 1% of R&D is directed toward female-specific conditions beyond oncology. In fact, the burden of benign gynaecologic diseases now exceeds that of malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV combined for women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries.
The discussion underscored that an investment of $300 million in women’s health R&D could yield $13 billion in economic return. Speakers from government, international institutions, philanthropy, and the private sector called for catalytic capital, innovative financing, and stronger delivery systems to scale impact.
PHOTO CREDIT: World Health Summit
“The World Health Summit 2025 has shown what is possible when diverse voices come together with a shared purpose,” concludes Carsten Schicker, CEO of the World Health Summit. “This must be the starting point for building a more inclusive, resilient, and cooperative global health architecture, one that truly serves all people, everywhere.”
The World Health Summit has since its inception in 2009, grown to symbolize a truly Global Movement for Health and Collaborative efforts among health professionals, policy makers, and civil society institutions. It has also evolved as the leading platform where global and regional health priorities take centre stage.
PHOTO CREDIT: AfricaNewsAnalysis/AM
In the words of Axel R. Pries, the President of the World Health Summit, the summit “continues to serve as the leading platform for global health dialogue, bringing tohether a broad range of perspectives to shape solutions for shared challenges.
“We will carry this momentum forward to the Regional Meeting in Kenya in April 2026, where local leadership and global collaboration will drive progress toward a more equitable and resilient health architecture,” he said.
Prof. Lukoye Atwoli, Dean of the Medical College, East Africa, at Aga Khan University, and incoming WHS International President was handed over the baton of the WHS Regional Meetings by Prof. Balvir Singh Tomar, Founder and Chancellor of NIMS University and International President of the WHS Regional Meeting 2025.
The Aga Khan University will host the next WHS Regional Meeting in Kenya in April 2026.
Looking ahead to the Regional Meeting in 2026, Prof. Lukoye Atwoli says: “As the WHS Regional Meeting baton moves from New Delhi to Nairobi, we at the Aga Khan University are honoured to convene leaders, innovators, and partners to address Africa’s health priorities. The Nairobi Regional Meeting will strengthen collaboration across regions and feed into the World Health Assembly and World Health Summit 2026, ensuring Africa’s perspectives shape the global health agenda.”
The next World Health Summit will take place from October 11 to 13, 2026, once again bringing together global health leaders to advance solutions for health worldwide.
About the World Health Summit
The World Health Summit is the leading platform for global health. It brings together stakeholders from politics, science, the private sector, and civil society to set the agenda for a healthier future. Founded in 2009, the WHS is held every October in Berlin and is organized by the WHS Foundation GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.