Doha: Healthcare challenges cannot be overcome unless there are investments in solutions that link health and education, Shaikha Moza Bint Nasser, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation, said.

“They are intrinsically connected and innovation in education leads us to innovation in health,” she said. “It is our wish to promote the cause of both access to basic primary education and universal health coverage. Statistics indicate that there are at least a billion people each year who have no access to the health services they need. 250 million of them are devastated by the financial consequences resulting from the fees they pay for such services,” she said at the second World Innovation Summit for Health (Wish) in the Qatari capital Doha.

The first summit was held in Qatar in November 2013.

The international conference is being held against the backdrop of the spread of Ebola, the continuing rise in heart disease, the advancing wave of diabetes, the growing cost of cancer care, and the growth of mental illness, organisers said.

“In the face of growing health concerns, reducing budgets and increasingly fluid global borders we face a crossroads in world health that presents a unique dilemma for us all,” the Right Honourable Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, Wish executive chair, said. “We must act urgently to share our experiences, combine our insights and progress solutions together. Only through collaboration can we be sure to find the right answers and only with innovation can we deliver the outcomes needed. Wish provides the platform for such action and I am proud to be welcoming the world’s experts to Doha today to create a healthier future for all.”

Discussions include growing and costly global health issues including cancer, diabetes, dementia and mental health.

Organisers said the summit was an opportunity for delegates from more than 80 different countries from around the world to share and explore the best evidence-based ideas in healthcare and to examine research and case studies to provide new learning and solutions to diverse and widespread health challenges.

“The Wish conference helps change our global health reality towards achieving a greater ambition of providing quality health coverage for all. Healthcare and healthcare access go to the heart of human rights,” Shaikha Moza said.

Some of the newest health innovations showcased at the event included virtual surgery, 3D-printed prosthetics and mobile applications.