World Health Summit 2018: Berlin once again capital for Global Health

World leaders from politics, science, industry and civil society will meet from October 14-16 to discuss the best ways to reach the United Nation health targets

2,000 Global Health experts from around the world are expected to attend the 10th World Health Summit taking place in mid-October in the German capital. They’ll come from all over the planet to debate and discuss the major challenges currently facing healthcare provision, access, and quality, as well as the problem of disease prevention. In particular, they’ll seek to streamline coordination of the many different initiatives in policy, science, the private sector, and civil society that are already in place, and strive to make them work more efficiently when it comes to meeting United Nation health targets.


The list of high-profile speakers at this year’s World Health Summit includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, two Nobel laureates and 16 CEOs at international companies and NGOs. As part of the festivities celebrating the 10th anniversary of the WHS, the World Doctors Orchestra will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 at the event’s opening ceremony.


Central topics at this year’s World Health Summit include pandemic preparedness, the crisis of antimicrobial resistance, access to essential medicines and treatments, the impact of the digital healthcare revolution, and the capacity of health systems to deliver interventions and technologies for curing disease and prolonging life. Health is a political choice, and it must be taken into account by decision-makers from every sector of policymaking. The World Health Summit therefore provides a forum for stakeholders from all over the world who would otherwise be unable to come together to discuss these issues in depth and at length.


The World Health Summit is being held under the high patronage of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. In all, 300 speakers from 100 countries will give presentations to the expected 2,000 WHS participants.

A Press Conference will be held on October 14th, 2018, 11:30am at the event venue
(Room Outdoor|Robert Koch). The speakers there will be:

  • Prof. Dr. Detlev Ganten | President, World Health Summit
  • Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn | Nobel laureate
  • Prof. Dr. Jochen Maas | CEO R&D, Sanofi Deutschland
  • Dr. Steven Buchsbaum | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
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