+ A
A -
Tribune News Network
Doha
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), attended the closing ceremony of the fourth World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) on Wednesday.
WISH an initiative of QF in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a global database of Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs).
The database will become a digital communications platform for CNOs to share ideas and concerns with each other, wherever they are in the world.
At the closing ceremony, the delegates were encouraged to return to their communities and seek innovative ways of solving pressing health issues.
The final day of the summit also featured a speech on tackling depression by swimming legend Michael Phelps calling for action on the effects of climate change on health, and a message from the Director General of WHO.
Delivering a keynote speech on anxiety and depression, Phelps, record-breaking Olympic swimmer who suffered from mental health issues throughout his career, said:"I didn't know it at the time, but four years ago, things happened in my life that indirectly led to me standing on a stage in Qatar in front of some of the world's leading healthcare experts today."
Other topics discussed on the second day of the summit included providing healthcare to remote areas, how healthcare systems plan for the long term, and safety in maternity.
Former President of Ireland and Chairperson of The Elders, Mary Robinson, was another keynote speaker on the second day, with her speech focusing on the ill-effects of climate change on global health.
She also recalled previous Chairs, Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan, and called for"a world where everyone enjoys the right to health, a thriving environment, and a peaceful planet to bequeath to subsequent generations."
A panel discussion was chaired by Lord Nigel Crisp, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health in the UK Parliament's House of Lords. Lord Crisp is also co-chair of the 'Nursing Now' campaign, which aims to promote nurses' role in healthcare and nursing as a profession.
WISH CEO Sultana Afdhal said,"WISH 2018 has shown that innovation in healthcare can take many forms, from the technology being introduced by young entrepreneurs to exceptional ideas that are being developed by academics, policymakers, NGOs, and the healthcare industry. We need to focus on putting the best ideas into practice."
The ceremony was also attended by a number of dignitaries, health ministers, and policymakers from around the world.
