World Health Summit 2020

Science · Innovation · Policies

Patrons of the WHS 2020
Central Topics
WHS 2021 Program
Session Recordings

The World Health Summit 2020 took place from October 25–27 in a digital format. This twelfth edition of the Summit was anything but business as usual: with all continents hit by COVID-19, it was the first World Health Summit since the World Health Organization characterized the virus as a pandemic.

6000

Participants

300

Speakers

100

Nations

Sessions

Impact of the WHS 2020

World Health Organization X World Health Summit

launched the publication "Health: A Political Choice – Act Now, Together". Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the UN General Assembly, it calls on world leaders and politicians to unite in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other imminent and long-term threats to population health and the global economy. It is the latest in a series of titles produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the first of which – Health: A Political Choice – called for UHC. It is an official publication of the Global Governance Project produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

"All countries have signed up to Universal Health Coverage by 2030. But we cannot wait ten years. We need health systems that work, before we face an outbreak of something more contagious than COVID-19; more deadly; or both."

Antonio Guterres

Secretary-General, United Nations (UN)

"All pulling together – this must be the hallmark of the European Health Union. I believe this can be a test case for true global health compact. The need for leadership is clear and I believe the European Union must assume this responsibility."

Ursula von der Leyen

President, European Commission

"Governments of countries that are doing well during the pandemic have not only shown political leadership, but also have listened to scientists and followed their recommendations."

Soumya Swaminathan

President, National Academy of Medicine, USA

“No-one is safe from COVID-19; no-one is safe until we are all safe from it. Even those who conquer the virus within their own borders remain prisoners within these borders until it is conquered everywhere.”

Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Federal President, Germany

"If we don’t address the concerns and fears we will not do ourselves a favor. In the end, it is about how technology can be advanced as well as how we can make healthcare more human."

Bernd Montag

CEO, Siemens Healthineers, Germany

"The lesson is clear: a strong health system is a resilient health system. Health systems and preparedness are not only an investment in the future, they are the foundation of our response today."

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)