The World Health Summit 2022 was officially opened in Berlin on Sunday evening, 16 October 2022. The leading theme of the opening ceremony: Taking Global Health to a New Level.
At the opening ceremony, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “Networking and good cooperation across national borders are what matter – especially in the field of global health. There needs to be an exchange between different scientific disciplines and also between science, politics and society. This is what the World Health Summit in Berlin stands for.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed in his pre-recorded speech:
“At this year’s World Health Summit, let’s move from alarm to action. And let’s deliver the stronger health systems that every person deserves.“
“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed, exploited and exacerbated the global health architecture as fractured and incoherent,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Taking global health to a new level means we need a new global agreement based on a common vision, a new global health architecture that is coherent and inclusive, and a new global approach that prioritizes promoting health and preventing disease, rather than only treating the sick.”
Sandra Gallina, Director-General for Health and Food Safety at the European Commission, highlighted: “These are times of deep and shared responsibility. The world needs urgent and collective action to overcome global health challenges – and the EU is ready to play a leading role in this effort through our upcoming EU Global Health Strategy.”
World Health Summit President Axel Pries also called for international cooperation: “In these times, we must work together internationally in an unprecedented manner. Issues like global health, peace, and climate change and its consequences for health can only be addressed together and with mutual trust.”
This is the complete online programme.
Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is an official partner of the WHS 2022 and will contribute to, host or co-host a number of sessions and side-events. Soon after the event, you can find summary reports on them on this page. Stay tuned!
| Time | Session | Chair | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday Oct. 16, 11:00- 12:30 | Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for all | Dr. Anshu Banerjee, WHO |
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| Monday Oct. 17, 09:00-10:30 | Strengthening and Financing Health Systems | Maelle Ba, Speak Up Africa, Senegal |
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| 14:00-15:30 | One Health in Action | Dr. Peter Karim Ben Embarek, Director for One Health, WHO |
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| Tuesday Oct. 18 | Investing in a Polio-free Future for More Resilient Health Systems | Redi Tlhabi, Moderate the Panel, USA |
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There will also be two BMZ-supported side events (more details will follow):
- “Adressing the Linkages between Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Climate Change”, jointly hosted with UNFPA.
- “BACKUP Health turns 20! A birthday celebration with distinguished guests, live music and birthday wishes from around the world”.