HH Sheikha Moza opens WISH 2020 with a call for unity in the face of unprecedented COVID-19 challenge

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, participated in the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) 2020 opening session, where she emphasized the centrality of the healthcare sector to the wellbeing of all sectors and the need for unity to face the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19.

WISH 2020 virtually brought together health professionals, practitioners and researchers under the banner of “One World, Our Health” to share expertise, find solutions to health challenges, including COVID-19 among others, and influence healthcare policies globally.

In her opening address, Her Highness highlighted how the pandemic proved that the “health” of every sector depends on the state of the healthcare sector, saying “We should not have waited for a pandemic to assert how healthcare is central and important to the infrastructure of comprehensive development. We have witnessed this truth become more and more apparent throughout the world this year.”

She continued, “In the midst of these trying times brought on by the pandemic, WISH is convening this year to elevate our sense of collective responsibility and unite the world as one – To work together, to share knowledge, to contain this pandemic and to minimize the damage until it is possible for scientists and researchers to restore the health and safety of people everywhere.”

Her Highness added that healthcare workers and researchers emerged as heroes during this historic moment, saying, “I salute healthcare workers in Qatar, and globally, for their tremendous efforts in fighting this pandemic, protecting lives, and tirelessly striving to create a better, healthier world.… our youth should exemplify and emulate [them] in their altruism, dedication and involvement in the health and research sectors.”

Attendees at the opening session included Her Excellency Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health; Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani, vice chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation; Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani, Director of Public Health Department at Hamad Medical Corporation; Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Strategic Group on Covid-19 and Head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation; and Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair of the World Innovation Summit for Health.

WISH 2020 will feature a wide range of live sessions in different formats, exploring vital subjects including COVID-19, the impact of climate change on health, and immunotherapy. Keynote speakers during the five-day conference include Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman; His Excellency Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy; Dr. Anthony Fauci, member of the White House coronavirus task force and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and American actress and philanthropist Eva Longoria.