   | Welcome to the Geneva Health Forum 2010 The 2006 and 2008 editions both demonstrated the continuing need for debate and concrete, innovative approaches to global access to health. The 2010 edition aims to take this a step further. While the GHF 2006 focused on a state of the art of access to health around the world and the GHF 2008 on strengthening health systems and the global health workforce, the 2010 edition will build upon two major factors that strongly affect health systems today: globalization and crisis. Over the last decade, global health has undergone substantial transformations: initially a somewhat neglected political field, global health issues have acquired prominence among States, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and non-State actors. This momentum, however, is currently challenged by four crises -- the food, fuel, economic, and climate crises -- the full effects of which are still unfolding. These crises jeopardize some recent health accomplishments, and further exacerbate the strains on healthcare services, health professionals, and local communities. Pandemics, the rise of non-communicable diseases, the increasing mobility of health professionals, and the rapid diversification of actors in the health sector are examples of such challenges that call for more comprehensive and integrated approaches. The 2010 Geneva Health Forum aims to identify sustainable responses to crises, placing emphasis on lessons learned from local and regional initiatives. These crises, by revealing existing weaknesses and disparities, offer the GHF participants the opportunity to formulate potential reforms and innovation. Creating a dynamic confrontation of perspectives, including all stakeholders active in the health sector, new forms of governance and partnering can be explored. In addition, the GHF will also investigate how innovative research and technologies can influence practice to facilitate access to health and care. Special emphasis will be given to e-health technologies, which create unique opportunities to disseminate information to improve practices. The Geneva Health Forum, since its first edition in 2006, offers a unique environment for bringing field experience to international attention. The 2010 edition comprises a reinforcement of the GHF outreach policy, with the launch of both an online Global Access to Health Platform and a system of internet hubs -- or conference antennas -- at the conference itself for those that are unable to attend. It is thanks to you that the Geneva Health Forum is now more than just an event: it is a permanent platform that will continue to evolve and be fashioned by its participants. It is our hope that all actors in global access to health find in the GHF the opportunity to voice opinions and share experiences in an environment conducive to making change happen. Louis Loutan _____________________ |  News by Session
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It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the third edition of the Geneva Health Forum. The theme of this edition, 'Globalization, Crisis, and Health Systems: Confronting Regional Perspectives', is the result of discussions with partners as well as an online questionnaire in which many of you participated. It reflects the need for change and action to improve global access to health and care in a context of global interdependence and economic instability.
The way health systems are designed, managed and financed affects people's lives and livelihoods. The difference between a well-performing health system and one that is failing can bemeasured in death, disability, impoverishment, humiliation and despair.