The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), is bringing together a group of leading healthcare experts to produce a special report on the role of nursing in delivering universal health coverage.
The findings of the report will be presented at WISH 2018, which will take place in Doha from November 13-14.
News of the formation of the WISH research group was announced at St Thomas’ Hospital in London recently by Lord Nigel Crisp, the group’s chair, during an event attended by the Duchess of Cambridge.
The announcement formed part of a launch event for ‘Nursing Now’, a global campaign being run in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses.
The campaign aims to improve the perception of nurses, enhance their influence, and maximise their contribution to ensuring everyone everywhere has access to health and healthcare.
In addition to chairing the WISH research group, Lord Crisp, who previously held the post of chief executive of the UK’s National Health Service, is co-chair of the three-year Nursing Now campaign.



The Duchess of Cambridge with Lord Crisp at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. The Duchess of Cambridge has become patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), and patron of the Nursing Now campaign. PICTURE: Ian Jones

The Duchess of Cambridge, who was announced at the event by Lord Crisp as Nursing Now’s patron and whose great-grandmother worked as a nurse during World War I, gave a speech in which she praised the nursing profession, saying: “I would like to congratulate and thank nurses everywhere for what you achieve on a daily basis. The difference you make should not go unrecognised.” 
Among those also in attendance at the event were Elizabeth Iro, Chief Nursing Officer of WHO; Annette Kennedy, President of the International Council of Nurses; and Sultana Afdhal, CEO of WISH.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO, joined the event via live video streaming from Geneva.
WISH is an official partner of Nursing Now, and the WISH report will be the first significant evidence-based research project on nursing to be actioned and completed during the Nursing Now campaign.
The report will build on the findings of WISH’s existing reports on universal health coverage, the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health’s report Triple Impact and the international Council of Nurses’ report Nurses’ Role in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Lord Crisp said: “The WISH research will examine the contribution of nurses to universal health coverage, particularly in the areas of health promotion, primary and community care, and chronic disease management.
"As both chair of the nursing forum group convened by WISH and co-chair of Nursing Now, I’m delighted to have been able to announce the WISH research at the Nursing Now launch event.”
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