The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), has announced that ‘Islamic Ethics and Palliative Care’ will be one of nine research topics that will form the focus of the WISH 2018 conference. WISH 2018 will take place at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) from November 13-14.
In the months leading up to WISH 2018, an international group of experts will investigate the ethical challenges and questions palliative care gives rise to. The group’s findings, to be published in a report ahead of WISH 2018, will be discussed in depth during a panel session at the prestigious event. In addition to exploring and analysing the key ethical challenges of palliative care from an Islamic perspective, the aim of the academic research within this forum is to produce policy recommendations that can have a positive impact on the management of palliative care in Qatar, the region, and beyond.
Dr Mohamed Ghaly, professor of Islam and Biomedical Ethics at the Research Centre for Islamic Legislation and Ethics, College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University leads the WISH Islamic Ethics and Palliative Care research group. The intersection of Islamic ethics and biomedical sciences is Dr Ghaly’s main specialisation and he is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Islamic Ethics. Dr Ghaly has lectured on the topic of Islamic bioethics at many prestigious universities worldwide, including Imperial College London and Oxford University and he is a previous fellow of the Kenney Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, USA.
Dr Ghaly said, “The emerging field of palliative care demonstrates the significance of treating a person as an indivisible whole, consisting of not only body but also thoughts, convictions, and beliefs, rather than only treating the strictly medical aspects of their disease. This has significantly contributed to bridging the gap between medicine and ethics and opens up new frontiers of interdisciplinary enquiry.
“Our forum will examine the ethical questions within the sensitive topic of palliative care, with a focus on insights from an Islamic tradition. The prospective study will include discussions surrounding international deliberations, the regional experience, and the relevance of Islamic ethical discourse.”
Sultana Afdhal, CEO, WISH, commented, “Every healthcare decision made is influenced by a central moral and ethical code. When it comes to healthcare service provision, physicians, patients, and their caregivers all need guidance on how to align their moral compass with the best course of action. It is for that reason that since its inception, the WISH summit has featured discussions surrounding Islamic ethics and health.”
WISH 2018 will feature nine research forums, each led by an internationally renowned expert in their field. The forums will highlight and address some of the world’s most pressing challenges across topics that cover medical, ethical, technological, and humanitarian aspects of healthcare.