Berlin, Germany | October 20^th - 22^nd, 2013

Welcome Messages 2012

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

Arthur Schopenhauer captured a deeply felt human need when he wrote that “health is not everything, but without health everything is nothing.” People everywhere rightly expect busi-ness, researchers and policy-makers to come up with viable concepts for well functioning health services that deliver good health care as well as effective disease prevention and control. Also in years to come that will remain a major global challenge. Responding to this challenge calls for a special kind of symbiosis that combines research and medical excellence with a pioneering spirit, responsibility and ethical integrity. In this respect the World Health Summit is a truly ideal forum. Now in its fourth edition, this unique gathering brings together experts from all over the world. I bid them all a very warm welcome to Berlin.

In the year 2012 sustainability is very much in the spotlight. Particularly Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, has highlighted the importance of sustainable life-styles and economic stewardship. So it makes excellent sense for this year’s World Health Summit to focus on the nexus between health and sustainable development. In a world in which ever more people are living, this is an increasingly critical factor. That is why inter-national cooperation is so important here, for it can play a crucial role in generating new hope and new prospects for people all over the world. Everyone has the right to a life lived in dig-nity, after all – and that means also in the best possible health.

As patron of the 2012 World Health Summit, I hope the conference will be a resounding success.

Angela Merkel
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

(please click here to read the Welcome Message in German)

François Hollande, President of the French Republic

As patron of the 2012 World Health Summit I would firstly like to express the simple idea, that although health is essentially the most private, indeed the most personal, of issues, it is also a matter of public concern. It is actually one of the primary state responsibilities.

In my role as joint patron, together with Chancellor Angela Merkel, I intend emphasizing that nothing can be achieved long-term with regard to health matters without international cooperation, in particular at the European level.

The challenges facing us are considerable. They are urgent. We should accept them together.

The first one is universal access to health care. Inequality in health treatment is one of the worst offenses against humanity. Everything possible should be done to rectify this injustice. This must be one of our joint priorities.

The second challenge is research, which can only develop further if adequate means are available and a coherent organization based on coordinated public decisions exists.

The third challenge concerns essential modifications to our way of thinking and handling in order to ensure sustainable development. This is about the future of our planet, the quality of our air and water: virtually everything is dependent on this prerequisite in some way. It is imperative that every world conference dealing with health issues takes this vital dimension into consideration.

I am very grateful to the forum participants for their work, their determination and their devotion to the common good. I hope you will have rewarding discussions and fruitful exchanges.

François Hollande
President of the French Republic

(please click here to read the Welcome Message in French)

Summit Presidents

Dear Friends,
Dear Colleagues,

“Research for Health and Sustainable Development,” the theme of the 2012 World Health Summit, articulates this year´s focus on finding novel solutions for non-communicable diseases and conditions of global concern, like obesity, diabetes, and mental illness. Unhealthy lifestyles are a main cause of these new epidemics. Greater awareness of the global economic risks and human suffering related to the epidemiologic transition, as well as sustainable solutions for healthcare systems to meet the challenge of non-communicable diseases and conditions, are urgently needed.

This year, the world will meet in Brazil for the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Although health and research are the basis for development, these issues do not figure prominently in the agenda for Rio. We strongly believe that research for health has to be an essential part of the development agenda.

Governments around the world are already struggling with the challenge of providing quality healthcare, despite increasing financial constraints. The economic crisis poses many challenges, but also represents an opportunity to reform health systems and to rethink the direction and nature of financing for research and health, resulting in more money for health and more health for the money. Science must be sensitive to financial realities, so that scarcity of resources will be considered an enabler of, not an impediment to, sustainable innovation. Maximizing the benefits from limited resources will ensure that the gains of medical progress reach as many people as possible. Important topics that need to be discussed are priorities for research, public and private sector partnerships, intellectual property rights, regulatory procedures for health products and conventions on biomedical research and development.

Academic institutions worldwide must take more responsibility in all health sectors and provide governments with the knowledge, evidence and advice to effectively translate scientific evidence into rational policy and effective solutions. To accomplish this goal, research is fundamental. We must also increase the quality and quantity of diverse health professionals to strengthen their impact on population health.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is proud to share the presidency of the World Health Summit 2012. The School has funded projects in over 120 countries worldwide and our mission is to protect populations from illness and injury by pioneering new research, deploying our knowledge and expertise in the field, and educating scientists and practitioners in the global defense of human life.

We invite you to the 4th World Health Summit in Berlin to jointly search for sustainable solutions for research, health and development in the 21st century.