FROM LEFT: Sultana Afdhal, Acting CEO, WISH; Sophie, The Countess of Wessex; H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health and Dr Robert Walters, Orbis Trustee.
The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) has announced ‘eye health’ as the first of nine research topics that will be the focus of next year’s global summit. A report outlining the findings of the research will be published and presented during a panel discussion at WISH 2018, to be held at the Qatar National Convention Centre from November 13 to 14, 2018.
The announcement of ‘eye health’ as a research topic was made during a visit by Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, to Sidra Medicine recently. As Global Ambassador of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, she recently visited Bangladesh to view the work of Orbis, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that operates the world’s only accredited Flying Eye Hospital.
The charity runs programmes that focus on the prevention of blindness and the treatment of blinding eye diseases in developing countries, through hands-on training, public health education, advocacy, and partnerships.
The British royal was given a tour of the eye health facilities at Hamad Medical Corporation and Sidra Medicine by H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health.
During her visit to Sidra Medicine, Sophie and Dr Hanan met with Sultana Afdhal, Acting CEO of WISH, to discuss the focus on eye health in next year’s summit.
In his capacity as an Orbis trustee, Dr Walters has volunteered to train ophthalmologists across a number of developing countries including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Vietnam. He will participate in the WISH 2018 eye health research forum, which will be chaired by Professor Sir Peng T Khaw, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, who specialises in glaucoma and is one of the most highly experienced specialists in the UK.
WISH 2018 will gather the world’s health care leaders in Doha to highlight and address some of the world’s most pressing health care challenges. Groups of experts from around the world will work together to build evidence-based research on nine topics in the months leading up to the summit and will present their findings in reports that will be published in time for the event. These reports will be explored in depth during panel discussions at WISH 2018. The topics will be announced over the coming months and will focus on a range of medical, social, humanitarian, and policy-driven areas.
WISH 2018, an initiative of Qatar Foundation will also feature an increased array of community-based events across Qatar and will present examples of healthcare innovation in action within ‘The WISH Hub’ – an interactive space that will showcase novel healthcare products, host informal discussions, and provide hands-on experience of technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
