Insights from the World Health Summit 2023: Collaborate, Innovate, Engage

​“Global health is a shared responsibility that can only be effectively addressed when we join forces and work together“ - Karl Lauterbach, Federal Ministry of Health 

In October 15-17, 2023, DNA Global’s Health Equity Research Intern and a NYU graduate student, Chloe Ambrose had the opportunity to attend the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany. It is exciting to have our staff and interns attend various conferences and events. Hence, in the spirit of learning what is happening globally, what strategies and solutions are being employed and emphasized, Chloe shares more about her experience.

Over 12,000 participants online and 3,000 on-site across 106 nations attended the remarkable event. It provided an incredible opportunity to share ideas, network, collaborate and learn from each other. 

Founded in 2009, the World Health Summit has been held annually, traditionally under the patronage of the German Chancellor, the French President, and the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

See the highlights of the World Health Summit, 2023 here. 

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Key Takeaways from the World Health Summit, 2023

Some common themes for this climate change, air pollution/environment, digital technologies for health care, global conflict, youth engagement and systems change. Below are some takeaways that we all can learn from:

1. ​Witnessing the Power of Collaboration: From discussions on climate change and health to sessions exploring the transformative potential of digital technologies, the summit emphasized the need for cross-sector partnerships and collective action.​​

​​2. Harnessing the Power of Digital Technologies for Global Health session showcased innovative solutions leveraging technology to improve healthcare access,  reach more people, offer better care, manage resources more efficiently, and can be used in low-resource countries and places, particularly for underprivileged communities.

​This transformation involves using digital tools like electronic health records, telemedicine platforms, mobile health apps, and data analytics. This resonates strongly with DNA, as we are on a mission to leverage technology as a powerful tool to address healthcare disparities, and improve maternal and child health outcomes, especially in low-resource settings.

3. Power of young people -Several presentors noted the power and potential of young people to save the world, which DNA also wholeheartedly believes in and has endorsed for 25 years. We, as was noted at the WHS, highly value and provide opportunities for young people to intern with us for years, and co-create solutions, projects and innovations.
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4. Gender equity: A few leaders talked about the challenge of delivering the future to women where countries have competing priorities, yet encouraging greater investments in women’s health, and staying optimistic in the face of adversities, inequities and injustices.

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Going beyond knowledge into action

Something that resonates strongly with DNA’s mission is to translate all this knowledge and evidence-base into action, i.e., systems, organizational, policy or practices changes. What works to create the most efficient effective systems? Following are Chloe’s insights about translating insights into action: 
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1. Prioritize leadership development in health systems: The "Global Health Insights Session: Effective Leaders for Effective Health Systems" highlighted the importance of equipping young professionals with leadership skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making, collaboration and communication. These are skills that young leaders need to have to ensure an effective health care system. This aligns with increased capacity building.
2. Advocate for equitable access to healthcare: The discussions on "G7/G20 Measures to Enhance Global Health Equity and Security" Addressing global health's complex web of social, economic, and environmental challenges demands strong cooperation among governments. ​This resonates with our data-driven, multidisciplinary mission at DNA Global, where we promote equity and collaboration to support programs, nonprofits, and systems working towards health and human rights for all. As the G7/G20 increasingly address issues like pandemics and engage with Low- and Middle-Income Countries, ensuring equity becomes even more critical, as the most vulnerable bear the brunt of global challenges.
3. Inter-agency and public-private collaboration: Global health challenges are too big for any one organization or one sector to tackle alone. It is vital for the public and private sector to come together, and experts and practitioners across multiple disciplines, something DNA embodies and has been a leader in to create collective impact. 
4. Support organizations working towards global health equity and climate change mitigation. Greater investments, tools, innovations, and resources are needed to support and scale solutions. 
5. Stay informed about current global health challenges and advocate for policies that address them. Greater efforts to use evidence creatively and data visualization and digital tactics to share compelling evidence to advocate much more for specific policies and enforcement of policies, within specific contexts. 

What an incredible platform for an annual reflection of great minds and leaders around the world! It was an immense pleasure for Chloe and DNA to be represented, validate and re-affirm our mission and methods. For years now, we have been pushing for more innovative, collaborative, and culturally-responsive strategies and solutions that leverage strengths, public-private partnerships, technology and data. 

We look forward to continuing to collaborate with like-minded mission-driven partners towards greatest collective impact. If you share our goals to eliminate health equity using technology, what works and building capacity and integrated systems, we would love to hear from you! Next WHS is October 13-15, 2024 in Berlin.  Let's join forces and turn World health Summit insights into collective tangible action for a healthier more equitable world. Contact [email protected], DNA's Business Development Manager to connect with us, or checkout our website (www.datainaction.org) for more information!