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Leadership

The World Health Summit is the unique international strategic platform for global health. It brings together stakeholders from politics, science, the private sector, and civil society from around the world to set the agenda for a healthier future by inspiring innovative solutions for better health and wellbeing for all.

Presidents

Portrait of Balvir S. Tomar
Balvir S. Tomar
WHS International President 2025 & Founder and Chancellor, NIMS University Jaipur
India
Axel Radlach Pries
Axel R. Pries
President
World Health Summit
Germany

Management

Portrait of Carsten Schicker
Carsten Schicker
CEO
World Health Summit
Germany

Council

The World Health Summit Council advises in major strategic aspects concerning the WHS main conferences, other events and products as well as in the development of the WHS community and the global, regional and national positioning of the WHS.

Co-Chairs

Ilona Kickbusch
Ilona Kickbusch
Founding Director, Global Health Center, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Switzerland
Elhadj As Sy
Elhadj As Sy
Chair, Kofi Annan Foundation
Switzerland
Members
Ricardo Baptista Leite
HealthAI & UNITE - Parliamentarians Network for Global Health
Lisa Heinrich
Wellcome Trust
Ole Petter Ottersen
University of Oslo
Christoph Benn
The Joep Lange Institute
Chikwe Ihekweazu
World Health Organization (WHO)
Magda Robalo
UHC2030 Steering Committee
Mukul Bhola
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
Ashish Jha
Brown University
Smitha Sadasivan
Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC2030 (CSEM)
Jagan Chapagain
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Tobias Kahler
Gates Foundation
Christine Stegling
UNAIDS
Francesca Colombo
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Beate Kampmann
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Andrew Ullmann
German Parliament, Subcommittee for Global Health
Manfred Dietel
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Neema Kaseje
Surgical Systems Research Group & Lodwar County Referral Hospital
Carla Vizzotti
Ministry of Health Argentina (until 2023)
Gabriel Leung
Institute of Philanthropy
Andrea Winkler
Technical University of Munich
Johanna Hanefeld
Robert Koch Institute
Ethel Maciel
Ministry of Health Brazil

Ambassadors

The World Health Summit Ambassadors are appointed to personally represent the World Health Summit around the world in order to communicate its cause, widen its network, consolidate its structure and strengthen its impact.

Ayoade Alakija
Ayoade Alakija
Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator), World Health Organization (WHO)
Bernhard Schwartländer
Bernhard Schwartländer
Global Health Envoy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Germany

More about our organization

Discover how we shape global health: Our mission, responsibility, and impact at the World Health Summit.

About the World Health Summit

A platform for global health solutions

Our Mission

Driving global health progress

Our Responsibility

Committed to sustainable health