World Health Summit Opens in Berlin: 4,000 Participants From 130 Countries Focus on Crisis to Resilience
The World Health Summit opened in Berlin on October 11, 2026, running October 11 to 13. Organisers said the summit, under the theme 'From Crisis to Resilience: Innovating for Health,' brings together more than 4,000 participants from 130 countries in Berlin and tens of thousands more online, drawn from politics, science, civil society and the private sector.
The agenda covers Ebola and other infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, pandemic preparedness, resilient health systems, health care in conflict settings such as Ukraine, and climate-related health threats. The summit also features a conversation with prospective candidates for the next Director-General of the World Health Organization. Summit President Axel R. Pries said past achievements and continued progress in global health are increasingly challenged by multiple overlapping crises, and that building resilient, effective and equitable health systems requires innovation across biomedicine, technology, financing, delivery and political coordination, underpinned by partnership and trust within and beyond the health sector.
At the official press conference, announcements included UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita highlighting Bangladesh's landmark €250 million investment in women's health supported by the European Investment Bank, and Wellcome chief executive John-Arne Røttingen launching the Wellcome Global Monitor 2026, which shows trust in science has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Berlin, Germany's hub for medical research and policy, hosts the summit annually. For Chinese professionals in Germany's health and life-sciences sectors, this year's debates on pandemic preparedness and health-system resilience connect directly to public-health reforms under way in many countries, and the summit's outcomes are expected to shape the global health financing and cooperation agenda over the coming year.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 柏林国际会议中心（ICC Berlin）。摄影：Fred Romero，CC BY 2.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
