Universal healthcare coverage stands prominently among the World Health Organization’s (WHO) three strategic priorities. The rise in health disparities worldwide underscores the inadequacy of relying solely on market mechanisms to ensure access to healthcare. In response, the WHO is advocating for the development of “common goods for health,” which encompass population-based functions or interventions demanding collective financing, whether by governments or donors.
Beyond the realm of healthcare, adopting a perspective of health as a common good compels us to explore not only issues of healthcare access but also community engagement. It challenges us to transcend the boundaries of the healthcare system and consider the social and environmental determinants of health.
With these considerations in mind, the Geneva Health Forum (GHF) proposes to delve into these concepts within three pivotal domains:
The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have starkly highlighted the interconnectedness of health and the environment.
Environmental degradation profoundly impacts human health in various ways:
Significantly, the healthcare system itself contributes to environmental degradation.
The Geneva Health Forum is dedicated to amplifying the voices of those confronting these challenges and actively implementing tangible solutions.
Universal health coverage cannot be achieved if we do not provide care for the 281 million international migrants.
Migrants, often among the most vulnerable members of society, grapple with physical, mental, and social well-being challenges heightened by their mobility. Obstacles such as irregular legal status, language barriers, financial constraints, and inadequate healthcare policies in host/traversed countries impede their access to essential healthcare.
The alarming rates of morbidity and mortality among migrants constitute an underestimated global health crisis that warrants the urgent attention of the international community. In May 2024, the World Health Assembly will evaluate the WHO Global Plan of Action to Promote the Health of Refugees and Migrants (2019-2023) and has already pledged to extend its action in support of migrant health.
The Geneva Health Forum aspires to amplify the voices of those actively facilitating healthcare access and engage in meaningful dialogues with key stakeholders involved in aiding migrants.
The recent progress in developing a malaria vaccine, yielding promising results, rekindles hope for combating this endemic disease that kills more than 600,000 people every year.
The elimination of Malaria, a complex vector-borne illness with strong environmental links, requires the implementation of different approaches. Easier access to treatment, presumptive treatment for pregnant women and children, mosquito nets impregnated with new insecticides, gametocyte treatment, the use of the bacterium Delftia tsuruhatensis, and mass administration of drugs on a population scale are just some of the strategies currently being studied.
The Geneva Health Forum aims to provide a platform for the voices of those implementing these different strategies, seeking to discover pathways to eradicate malaria.
Established in 2006 by the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Geneva Health Forum (GHF) is a Swiss not-for-profit initiative that brings together a diverse range of stakeholders to discuss and address global health challenges.
The GHF plays a pivotal role in the global health landscape, as a neutral and inclusive platform, fostering dialogue and collaboration among key players in the field, including policymakers, representatives from academia, civil society, and the private sector.
Its core mission is to facilitate constructive dialogue among these global health actors, which, in turn, contributes to the improvement of health policies and access to care worldwide. The Geneva Health Forum proudly collaborates with some of the most prominent international organizations based in Geneva.
