World Health Summit 2020

02 december 2020

The World Health Summit 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic was extraordinary in so many ways

More than 50 sessions in three days including more than 300 international speakers from all sectors were completely broadcast online. And the World Health Summit venue in Berlin turned into a huge electronic studio. The first fully-digital edition of the World Health Summit reached more live participants than ever: Over 6,000 people actively took part from all over the world – from Austria to Zimbabwe. And now, after the meeting, even more people are continuously watching the session recordings on the World Health Summit YouTube Channel.

The World Health Summit 2020 featured the most prominent organizations and leaders in global health, including the German Federal President, the President of the EU Commission, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of the World Health Organization. Also of note: this year's speakers were equal in gender.

The World Health Summit 2020 could not have been more important - this is also shown by the international media attention. The summit took place at a time with an unprecedented need for global cooperation in health. In order to be successful, the COVID-19 responses need to go far beyond global health organizations – they require determined decisions by political bodies such as the G7 and the G20, financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank and many others. The World Health Summit and its academic backbone, the M8 Alliance, stand by the deep commitment to multilateralism, health diplomacy and international cooperation in science and research. It strongly supports the increasing cooperation between international organizations for health. This is also one of the core calls for action of the M8 Alliance Declaration 2020, the closing statement of the World Health Summit, which was also presented to the governments of the G20 Summit in Saudi Arabia this November.

The M8 Alliance, this unique international, growing network of Academic Health Centers and Universities and National Academies of Medicine and Sciences, now has 30 members in 20 countries: We are proud and honored to welcome the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health and the Global Health Institute of the American University of Beirut, Lebanon as new members.

Dear friends,
Global health is more important than ever: Universal Health Coverage, Climate Change and Health, the Sustainable Development Goals, Health Systems Strengthening, Pandemic Preparedness, Antimicrobial Resistance, One Health - we will continue to work towards these goals with all our partners.

Let us not forget: No one is safe until all are safe. And we must act accordingly, globally.

Stay healthy

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