The 2024 edition of Doha Healthcare Week (DHW) concluded today, marking a successful six-day community festival focused on promoting health and wellbeing throughout Qatar. Organized by the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) – Qatar Foundation’s global healthcare initiative – DHW featured a diverse range of activities that engaged residents of all ages in meaningful health-focused initiatives.

This year’s Doha Healthcare Week was sponsored by ConocoPhillips, reflecting their commitment to enhancing healthcare awareness in the community. To deliver DHW, WISH collaborated with 19 partners, including the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Sports and Youth, Qatar University, Msheireb Properties, and Qatar National Library.

The week’s events saw robust community participation, starting with the inaugural launch of the DHW wellness days was a big success, which offered free health checkups and screenings for all attendees, providing accessible health services to a large number of individuals including school students and migrant workers.

Additionally, in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar, WISH arranged an art therapy workshop for stress management designed specifically for HMC healthcare professionals to reflect, recharge, and explore new paths of self-growth through guided artistic exercises.

Throughout the week, families were also able to engage in a range of activities aimed at physical health and family bonding. The children’s athletics championship program, organized by Qatar School Sports Association, invited 100 students aged 8 to 11 to compete in different sports activities including athletics, football and basketball, with the aim of promoting a culture of sports and encouraging young people to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle. Other activities including spin classes, yoga and breathing techniques, and wellness workshops were also popular amongst the public.

Concluding DHW, Aljawhra Al-Mana, Acting Director of Partnerships and Outreach at WISH said: “The success of Doha Healthcare Week highlights the growing commitment within our community to prioritize health and wellness. We extend our sincere gratitude to our local partners, whose collaboration serves as a catalyst for ongoing efforts, ensuring a lasting impact as we work together to build a healthier and more resilient society.”

With Doha Healthcare Week now successfully concluded, attention shifts to the upcoming World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH). The seventh conference of the global health initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF) will take place in Doha, Qatar on 13 and 14 November, with the theme: ‘Humanizing Health: Conflict, Equity and Resilience’. It aims to highlight the need for innovation in health to support everyone, leaving nobody behind and building resilience, especially among vulnerable societies and in areas of armed conflict.

This year, WISH has entered a strategic partnership with the WHO – a partnership that involves collaboration in the development of a series of evidence-based reports and policy papers, as well as the support of WHO in a post-summit implementation strategy.

The summit will feature more than 200 experts in health speaking about evidence-based ideas and practices in healthcare innovation to address the world’s most urgent global health challenges.