Dubai to Host World Hospital Congress in 2021

Dubai will kick off the 45^th edition of the World Hospital Congress (WHC) in 2021, under the theme ‘Achieving Sustainability and How Should We Look in 2030?’. Organized by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in collaboration with the International Hospital Federation (IHF) and INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions – a member of INDEX Holding, the 4-day annual World Hospital Congress, will be held from the 5^th to the 8^th of December, 2021. 

IHF 2021-World Hospital Congress will gather world-renowned hospitals, leading healthcare institutions, specialist doctors and industry professionals from across the globe, with the aim of addressing the most important healthcare challenges facing hospitals around the globe, how to cope up with ever-increasing burden of diseases, facilitate superior services and deliver excellence in healthcare for communities, societies and its people. 

This was announced during a press conference held earlier today at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, in the presence of His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dr. Muna AbdulRazzaq Tahlak, IHF Treasurer and CEO, Latifa Women and Children Hospital at DHA, Dr. Eric Roodenbeke, CEO, International Hospital Federation (IHF) and Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, Chairman, INDEX Holding and IHF Special Advisor for the Middle East Region, top DHA authorities, senior officials from a number of public and private healthcare institutions in the UAE and media representatives. 

Commenting on the occasion, H.E. Humaid Al Qutami, Director-General of DHA said, “The UAE is one of the most advanced countries when it comes to hosting summits, conferences and forums, and Dubai has specifically established its global position as the preferred destination for scientists, experts and innovators from all over the world, as it is the ideal platform for innovation and development in various fields.”

H.E. Al Qutami added, “Dubai’s hosting of such a global event reflects not only the status of this global city, but rather its tremendous potentials and capabilities to embrace such major medical-scientific congresses, as well as the level of continuous development that the city has reached in the health and medical sciences sectors, and also the competitive capabilities of Dubai in this major field.”

His Excellency Al Qutami stressed, “The Congress is expected to contribute greatly to strengthening healthcare systems, supporting international efforts related to combating communicable and noncommunicable diseases. In addition, the Hospital gathering helps in developing hospital protocols, shaping unified global visions to raise levels of preventive measures and modernize systems and ways to improve diagnosis and treatment, as well as support medical research related to the safety of patients inside hospitals, medical centers and clinics.”

He concluded, “The Dubai Health Authority believes that such conferences enable a real openness to the successful health experiences of the world, as well as the exchange of experiences and the transfer of knowledge. It also offers an opportunity to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in terms of researches and techniques, while highlighting the major issues and challenges facing the concerned bodies in this sector.”

While speaking about the significance of Dubai as the host venue for IHF 2021 – World Hospital Congress, Dr. Eric Roodenbeke, CEO at IHF, said, “Dubai is an international hub that is highly attractive for premier world congresses for many reasons including access to seamless connectivity for travelers and guests, a pleasant and safe environment for visitors and participants and an excellent healthcare system that is continuously pursuing innovation. Additionally, for the IHF, our presence in the Middle East is highly important as we work closely with the East Mediterranean WHO regional office supporting hospital reforms and the professionalization of health service management. Moreover, I would like to underscore the role of DHA that has been for decades an active member of the IHF and stress the important role played by Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, IHF Advisor for the Middle East region, for many years in supporting IHF in Dubai and the region.”

Dr. Eric Roodenbeke added, “At IHF, we support the exchange of practices and knowledge in our community of members to better respond to the evolving healthcare needs and demands of the people we serve. As Dubai is keen to provide world-class healthcare services to its residents, IHF aims to exchange many such innovative practices that are highly essential within the region and the rest of the world. IHF 2021 World Hospital Congress certainly provides a unique learning opportunity as well as a unique platform for further collaboration between health service providers coming from across the region and abroad. Furthermore, as the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention won the Gold Award in the 2019 IHF Excellence Award for Leadership and Management in Healthcare for their project, it serves as a testimony to UAE’s efforts in delivering excellence in healthcare.”

He further stated, “While a lot of improvement has been made over the last few decades in facing healthcare challenges, improving health is a never-ending story, as with the advancement in healthcare, new types of health challenges are equally on the rise. Today, hospitals are drastically changing to better respond to the evolution of the burden of diseases while harnessing all the collective benefits of technologies and scientific advancement. With the development of multiple chronic pathologies, it is necessary to have more integrated healthcare services that are fully patient-centred. Meanwhile, we are also witnessing a rise in personalized treatments along with genomics and new types of treatments as well as virtual services that are improving the delivery approach. As highly reliable, safe and quality care supported by best practices in healthcare management is important, IHF has made it a priority to support the professionalization of health service leadership and management.” 

From her side, Dr. Muna Tahlak, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Latifa Women and Children Hospital of the Dubai Health Authority, member of the International Hospital Federation (IHF) and its Treasurer, said, “IHF is one of the most important international organizations whose history extends to 90 years, with members from across various hospital and healthcare organizations in the world. IHF is concerned with providing consultations, promoting the transfer and exchange of experiences, and supporting hospitals in the field of research and studies, and other matters related to health.”

She pointed out that, “The IHF 2021 World Hospital Congress is aiming to achieve the goals and follow the directives of the federation, stressing that selecting the UAE for hosting this unique event is a success on its own as well as an important guarantee to achieve the desired objectives and aspirations of the country, which witnesses the presence and participation of a number of distinguished officials, experts, doctors and managers of health institutions from across the world.”

For his part, Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, Chairman of INDEX Holding and IHF Special Adviser to the Middle East Region said, “The International Hospital Federation IHF 2021 World Hospital Congress, being held under the title ‘Achieving Sustainability & How Should We look in 2030?’, aims to develop the hospital sector and improve the safety and quality of various services related to healthcare. The Congress highlights the most prominent challenges facing this sector, while also discussing global best practices in the field of health care in order to achieve a healthier and happier society in line with the National Agenda of the United Arab Emirates and the Dubai Plan 2021.”

He added: “We are very proud at INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions – a member of INDEX Holding to organize the activities of IHF 2021 World Hospital Congress in Dubai for the second time. We are keen to benefit from our global partnerships in order to support the health care sector in the UAE and attract the most prominent, experienced and globally acclaimed doctors and healthcare professionals to visit Dubai. Through this Congress, we intend to brainstorm about the best solutions in the health care sector as well as improving its productivity to ensure its long-term sustainability.”

The Congress will feature discussions on a number of topics addressing the most pressing global healthcare industry such as ‘How do Hospitals, Clinics and Organizations continue to work and plan for sustainable infrastructures?’ while other topics addressed during the conference include a session on ‘Business Art Through Leadership’, where experts will share their successful concepts and innovations in the healthcare industry, while another topic titled ‘When to Build and When not to Build’, features a discussion on the availability of hospital beds and who should make a final call about this decision. 

In other sessions, ‘The Technology Effect’ session will focus on what will change and ways to seeing the blind spots in identifying challenges, while ‘Predicting the Workforce Makeup in 2030’ session will highlight who will be the workforce and what skills will be required to overcome future challenges. Meanwhile, a session titled ‘Driving Prevention – Everyone’s a Winner?’ will speak about the obvious benefits of disease prevention and its impact on various healthcare institutions financially and strategically and ‘Private vs Public -Business Models Shared’, the session will address how business models objectively differ. Additionally, ‘Doing the Math’s session will stress the application of the smartest financial concepts and exploring the way forward.

IHF Dubai 2021 – World Hospital Congress running from the 5^th to the 8^th of December, 2021 is organized by Dubai Health Authority in collaboration with International Hospital Federation (IHF) and INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions – a member of INDEX Holding.