Global health leaders outline strategies to tackle TB among migrants and refugees at QF’s WISH 2024

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) – Qatar Foundation’s global healthcare initiative – featured a much-anticipated panel discussion on addressing the elimination of TB based on the ‘Innovative solutions towards the elimination of tuberculosis among refugees and migrants’ report released ahead of the summit. The discussion was moderated by Mr Stephen Sakur, of the BBC.

Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the World Health Organization Global TB Programme and lead author of the report, was joined by Ms Bience Gawanas the Vice-Chair of the Global Fund Board; Dr. Muna Al Muslamani, the Director of Communicable Disease Center HMC; Dr Michela Martini of the International Organization for Migration; Dr Paul Spiegel of Johns Hopkins University, and Mr Jospeh Mwangi Cachari of the Center for Disease Control Qatar.

Dr. Tereza elaborated on how tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, disproportionately affecting refugees and migrants who often experience overcrowded living conditions, poor access to healthcare and limited social support amongst other factors.

The panel discussed, in detail, the strategies to implement the report’s ten policy recommendations, which are aligned with commitments from the UN’s political declarations on TB, migration, and refugees, as well as the WHO’s End TB Strategy and global action plan. These strategies, drawn from successful experiences, are intended to serve as a guide for stakeholders worldwide in making TB elimination a reality for all.

Dr Martini said: “This region sees large cross-border movements of undocumented migrants, and thanks to The Global Fund, we have been able to launch a roadmap towards the elimination of TB in regional countries.”

Speaking on Qatar’s achievements in the field, Dr Al Mulsamini, pointed out that, according to the CDC’s own registry, “The number of cases of TB in Qatar had decreased from 41 cases per 100,000 of population in 2002, to 31 in 2023.”

“All GCC countries follow the WHO recommendations and have national TB elimination programs,” said Dr Al Mulsamini, adding that Qatar’s TB monitoring service is centralized at the CDC (Center for Disease Control) hub and can last for up to one and half years. “We monitor migrants through our TB register of high-incidence countries,” she said, adding that “if migrants are on anti-TB medication, we follow-up through the IHR (International Health Regulation) and the MOPH (Ministry of Public Health) when they return to their own country.”

The second day of WISH included other panels and discussions as follows:

• Empowering the Frontline – Supporting Nurses Through Strategic Investment

• Rebuilding Hope: Healing, Reconstruction, and Resilience

• Is The Stigma Around Obesity Leading to Unhealthy Outcomes?

• Leveraging Sports for Health and Well-being in Fragile Contexts

• Innovative Solutions for the Elimination of Tuberculosis Among Refugees and Migrants

• Psychological Health and Women: Insights and Approaches from an Islamic Perspective

• Are We Missing the Link between TB and Mental Health?

• Palliative Care: How Can We Respond to 10 Years of Limited Progress?

• Women’s Employment in Health in the EMR

• Prophetic Medicine Today: The Interplay of Medicine, Ethics, and Sharia

• National Action Plan for Obesity, Diabetes and Risk Factors for ASCVD

• Humanizing Health Through Community Engagement

• Anxiety, Loneliness and the Fate of Gen Z: Tackling the Unprecedented Global Mental Health Crisis

This year, WISH was opened in the presence of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation and founder of WISH. The opening ceremony, held at Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, included speeches from Her Excellency Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Qatar’s former Minister of Public Health; Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair of WISH; and Christos Christou, President of Médecins Sans Frontières.

The theme of WISH 2024 was ‘Humanizing Health: Conflict, Equity and Resilience’. It aimed 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.

Ahead of the summit, WISH entered into a strategic partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), collaborating on the development of a series of evidence-based reports and policy papers, as well as working with the United Nations’ health agency to develop a post-summit implementation strategy.

The summit featured 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.