World Health Summit 2024: Key outcomes and insights

The World Health Summit 2024, held in Berlin, Germany from October 13-15, attracted over 3,500 in-person attendees and more than 21,000 online participants. With the theme "Building Trust for a Healthier World," the summit brought together key stakeholders from politics, science, the private sector, and civil society to discuss strategies for improving global health systems, enhancing pandemic preparedness, and addressing climate change's impact on health. High-level speakers, including WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Bill Gates, highlighted the need for international collaboration to work towards progress on SDG3. Key discussions focused on mobilizing health funding for multilateral organizations, including the WHO, fostering climate resilience in healthcare, as well as how to leverage digital health and AI to enhance access to care in underserved regions.

SEEK’s global health and climate practice team attended the summit and participated in multiple panels and discussions. They left the summit with a wealth of reflections, from innovative solutions to critical challenges. The below Donor Tracker Commentary provides an overview of the summit’s key outcomes and SEEK’s takeaways.

Key outcomes

Health Financing

Ensuring global commitments

Global health financing is at a critical crossroad as donor countries face budget constraints, yet the need to replenish essential global health funds remains urgent. At the 2024 WHS, Olivia Ngou, Executive Director of Impact Santé Afrique, who has spent over a decade combating malaria in Africa, underscored the importance of sustained financing for mechanisms like the Global Fund and Gavi. These organizations are not only central to achieving SDG #3 , but they are also crucial for global health security, particularly in the fight against HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. With upcoming replenishment cycles involving significant financial asks, these health funds face an uphill battle, especially amid growing donor reluctance.

Both donor countries and the private sector must step up their contributions to ensure life-saving vaccines and treatments reach the most vulnerable populations. Despite fiscal challenges, these high-impact investments are essential to safeguarding global health and securing a healthier future for all. Relatedly, one of the landmark events at the 2024 WHS was the WHO Investment Round, which raised US$1 billion to support the organization’s efforts over the next four years. The initiative aims to prevent 40 million avoidable deaths by strengthening health systems and advancing equity. Bill Gates and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, key speakers at the event, highlighted the global solidarity needed to meet these goals.

Climate Change and Health Resilience

A critical nexus

The convergence of climate change and health system resilience emerged as a key topic at WHS 2024, underscoring the increasingly evident links between environmental sustainability and global health. With rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events threatening to overwhelm health systems, the need for climate resilience is more urgent than ever. Dr. Githinji Gitahi, an advocate for UHC in Africa and Global Chief Executive Officer of Amref Health Africa, remarked that “a climate-resilient health system is a pandemic-ready system,” highlighting that integrating climate adaptation into health infrastructure is not just necessary for future environmental crises, but also for responding to future pandemics. As climate-induced health risks grow, scaling up climate finance remains a top priority for protecting the most vulnerable populations from the compounded impacts of health and environmental crises.

Health Innovation

The power of impact investments

Bridging the gaps in healthcare accessibility, particularly in low-income regions, requires innovative financing approaches. At WHO WHS 2024, the session on "Impact Investments in Innovations" focused on the role of private and public sector leaders in driving investments in life sciences, med-tech, and biotech innovations. These impact investments are crucial to developing high-impact health technologies that can improve healthcare delivery in underserved areas. By mobilizing more resources toward these innovations, the health sector can accelerate progress toward universal health coverage and better access to life-saving treatments.

Nutrition

A cornerstone of SDG Progress

The importance of integrating nutrition into health systems took center stage at WHS 2024 as participants emphasized its role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Shawn Baker from Helen Keller International, who has more than 30 years of experience in global public health and nutrition, spotlighted malnutrition as a critical barrier to better health outcomes, stressing that nutritional interventions should go hand-in-hand with immunization efforts. This approach not only strengthens health systems but also contributes to improved overall health outcomes. Nutrition will also be a focal point at the March 2025 Nutrition for Growth Summit, where stakeholders will continue to push for comprehensive strategies to address global malnutrition and drive progress on SDGs.

Looking forward

The World Health Summit 2024 was a landmark event that gathered global health leaders to tackle critical issues like financing, climate resilience, and health system innovations. It showcased the urgent need for sustained investments and strategic partnerships to meet evolving health challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. With initiatives such as the WHO's Investment Round and the Health Impact Investment Platform, there was a clear focus on generating long-term funding solutions to bolster global health systems. Yet, the summit underscored that the path forward is still fraught with challenges. While significant commitments were made, achieving tangible progress will require continued collaboration between governments, international organizations, and the private sector.

As the 2025 Nutrition for Growth Summit approaches, stakeholders are increasingly aware that turning these discussions into action is imperative to ensure health equity for all. Despite the momentum from the summit, there is a pressing need to scale up funding and accelerate innovations, particularly in regions most vulnerable to climate impacts and pandemics. Achieving these goals will demand not only financial resources but also robust policy frameworks, inclusive leadership, and persistent advocacy to ensure that health systems worldwide are resilient and equipped to handle future crises. The WHS 2024, while a pivotal step, emphasized that the work is far from over.