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Think local. Act globally.

What is needed to achieve global health?

"Global health" seems to be a concept as simple as it is complex: every person on earth has the right to safe medical care. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that this requires not only personal commitment, but society as a whole. In regard to the World Health Summit 2021 in Berlin, Germany, we took a closer look at what needs to be done to pursue this goal.

What does "global health" mean?

Everyone has their own ideas about "global health," yet some key aspects can be identified that can define the term. The focus is on the impact of an increasingly globalized world on health. These include social inequalities due to international trade, transmission of diseases through travel, and effects of climate change. 


At the same time, the term is oriented toward access to healthcare for all, with a particular focus on vulnerable and underprivileged populations.[1] In short, health is not only a personal right, but above all a human right and concerns everyone.


WHS Bernd Montag

Healthcare is fundamental for our well-being but also the basis for the stability and prosperity of every nation. At Siemens Healthineers, we pioneer breakthroughs in healthcare. For everyone. Everywhere. Sustainably.

Bernd Montag, CEO of Siemens Healthineers

Every individual expects and deserves high-quality, personalized care - despite the increasing financial pressures healthcare systems are facing today. These challenges, while common to all humanity, affect different parts of the world differently. The unequal distribution of health-promoting resources and health risks is largely caused by political, economic, and social frameworks. This makes healthcare a societal issue. But what exactly does it take to achieve global health?

Scalable healthcare

3 

Ultimately, in the context of global healthcare, we are as strong as the most vulnerable of us - the pandemic taught us that.

At the same time, the most advanced technology is only as good as the number of people who have access to it.
World Health Summit 2021 - scalability
That's why innovation must be followed by scalability. This requires not only scalable products, but also the cooperation of local governments and healthcare providers to provide the necessary infrastructure:

Digital technology

3 

Stable healthcare is not established in all parts of the world. Particularly hard-to-reach regions and target groups have insufficient access to healthcare - if any at all.

This is where digitalization comes into play.

World Health Summit 2021 digital technology
Technologies such as artificial intelligence or telemedicine can help to provide underserved areas with better access to healthcare services. These include, for example, digital consultations in which doctors and patients can exchange information over distances of several hundred kilometers, thus avoiding long journeys. This paid off especially during the pandemic:

Purpose

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In addition to high-tech products and solutions for global networking of healthcare professionals, it is above all the people themselves who can transform healthcare.

All over the world, they are working to ensure and improve access to healthcare.
World Health Summit 2021 purpose

Take Nishen Naicker from South Africa, for example: in 2019, he started as a service engineer at Siemens Healthineers, ensuring the proper functioning of our laboratory diagnostic equipment on site. During the pandemic, his role proved to be one of system-relevant services and made Nishen a frontline worker. Meanwhile, his role is different: since October 2020, he has led the team of service engineers and is facing new challenges. He sees his job as a calling: "The values of Siemens Healthineers are also mine. It is my purpose to help people. We all have this purpose, and I have made it my job."

Health starts with people. One way to approach this is a skilled workforce. Investment by governments and public institutions in education could be supported, for example, through collaborations between technology companies and universities to offer state-of-the-art professional training programs.

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Global healthcare dialogue

To create safe, global healthcare and ensure access to it, it is not enough to work only locally.

If we are to achieve global health, science, politics, civil society and the private sector must work together to improve health and living conditions for all people everywhere.
World Health Summit 2021 policy
Access to healthcare is a human right, but unfortunately it is not yet possible for many people to take advantage of it. While digitalization is advancing and huge breakthroughs are being made in medical technology, the provision of comprehensive healthcare beyond national borders remains a task that needs everyone's dedication. That is why events like the World Health Summit exist at all- to address one of the most difficult yet important issues of our time - global health for all.

Listen to our experts talk at World Health Summit 2021

Listen to Dr. Bernd Montag talk about "Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons from COVID-19". Find the full video here.
WHS Christoph Zindel

Multi-stakeholder collaboration is one of the keys to overcome the often dysfunctional status quo of global health. Civil society, science, the private sector, and politics are united in their ambition of providing accessible, available and affordable healthcare for all. Digitalization will enable us to improve access on a global scale.

Christoph Zindel, former Managing Board Member, Siemens Healthineers

To this end, we must enter dialogue at a global level – and there are already numerous opportunities and platforms to connect, for example:

Discover more here

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