World Health Summits begins in Berlin

More than 1,200 international leaders from academia, politics, industry and civil society gather in Berlin today to develop strategic solutions for the current global health challenges.

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The Summit takes place under the patronage of the Geman Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Nicholas Sarkozy and is organised by the Charite Medical University in conjunction with the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centres and Medical Universities as well as the 60 most important National Academies, the WHO and the European Union.

Under the theme, “Today’s Science – Tomorrow’s Agenda” the summit will discuss topics on Bridging Health Gaps with Vaccines, Reseach for Neglected Diseases of Poverty, and Promoting Health – Preventing Non-Communicable Diseases.

Other topics of focus at the summit include Global Mental Health, Climate Change and Health as well as Public Health Response to Mega-Diseases.

In her welcome message, Chancellor Merkel announced that Germany was establishing new research centres for six common diseases that will allow “us to pool expertise and speed up the process of translating research results into standard treatments.”

She stressed the importance of co-operation in the treatment of neglected diseases and the diseases of poverty as key elements to achieving rapid progress.

“Only if researchers, policy-makers, business and civil society work together at international level can we expect solutions that really work,” said Merkel adding that “co-operation needs mutual trust and understanding.”

In his message, President Sarkozy observed that health was the major topic of the 21st century stressing that the increase of chronic diseases in every part of the world, together with changing demographics, imposes tough challenges on the global health system.

“This requires true collaboration and close links between government, researchers and industry, between public and private sectors,” says the French president adding that financial constraints “force us to increase efficiency and reduce costs but not the quality of health care.

He said despite the international communities commitment to reduce extreme poverty, increase education, decrease child mortality, improve maternal health and reduce infectious diseases as enshrined in the Millennium Development Goals, “we still have a considerable way ahead of us.

The French leader called for the introduction of innovative financing models and new governance structures to sustain the financial engagements of the rich countries for the poor, and stressed that “our structures have to adapt to the health challenges of the 21st century.”

C. Musah, ANA Health Editor