Sharing innovation: the global challenge

By 2050, the number of people aged 60 and over will rise to two billion – nearly a quarter of the world’s population. At the same time, rates of non-communicable diseases (NCD) continue to rise – already accounting for over 60% of global deaths. In the long term, such trends threaten the sustainability of health systems around the world. Policy makers and healthcare leaders, at the Global Health Policy Summit, called for international action to find innovative solutions to address the key global healthcare challenges ahead – including problems of accessibility, affordability and quality. There are many examples of innovation taking place around the world, which could be adopted more widely – from the use of telemedicine to aid selfmanagement of long-term conditions, the use of social media in health improvement campaigns, to tax incentives to support families caring for ageing parents. As journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby pointed out, while opening the ceremony: “While no nation has all of the answers, all nations have some of the answers.” The event attracted high profile speakers – including: Professor Lord Darzi of Denham, director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, Earl Howe, Minister of State, Department of Health, Prime Minister David Cameron, Her Highness Sheikha Moza of Qatar, health ministers from across the globe, and leading health innovators from academia and industry. His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, called for innovation and collaboration at an international level – a message supported by Her Highness, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chair of the Qatar Foundation, who added that “the power of education in addressing healthcare problems should never be underestimated.” Hosting the event, Lord Darzi said: “This Summit comes at a pivotal moment for global health. Much of the world still has limited access to basic medical facilities and, even in wealthier nations, access to new medicines and healthcare technology is increasingly unaffordable. “There is a long tradition of tackling ill health through innovation. It has the potential to improve health for millions of people round the world – but only if it is affordable. The Summit aims to create a sea-change in the way we tackle global health problems to enable the funding, development and promotion of frugal technology.” Lord Darzi commented that every healthcare system in the world is presented with the challenge of balancing access with affordability, amid increasing demand and expectations; and to balance the cost of therapies with the huge potential of emerging technologies. “Meeting these challenges is the test for us all,” he commented. “Until now, there has been no place where policy makers, industry leaders and academics could come together to discuss, debate and decide what actions are needed to tackle global healthcare challenges. It doesn’t matter if these ideas originate from the public sector or the private sector; whether these innovations are first tried in developed economies or emerging economies. What matters is that, by coming together, we find new ways of working, new ways of treating and new ways of financing our healthcare.” He went on to underline the importance of embracing innovation, stating: “The more I look at the shared global healthcare challenges around the world, the more I am convinced that there needs to be a bold and radical reform to healthcare systems; and the more I study healthcare systems around the world, the more I see the importance of finding shared solutions to our common challenges.” To unlock the potential of healthcare systems, Lord Darzi identified a number of priorities that he considered to be crucial – highest on his list was the need to put prevention first. Also important was the need to:

• Reform the professions.
• Ensure patients are more engaged in their own care.
• Harness the full potential of pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.
• Strengthen personal responsibility.
• Make partnership central to the way we work.

“Doing nothing is not an option if we want better quality care,” he commented. “We may have different starting points, but we have more in common than many people think. We have a shared agenda of reform. When we think about prevention, it is more than trying to get people to drink less, eat better and stop smoking – we need proactive prevention that is personalised to the individual.”