Devex Impact
House @WHA

May 20-21, 2026

Geneva / On-Demand

FROM VISION TO ACTION:
CAN GLOBAL HEALTH DELIVER?

Global health is entering a defining moment — one where bold visions are everywhere, but execution remains uncertain. The United States and Africa are putting forward competing roadmaps for the future of global health. China, Gulf states, and emerging Asian funders are shifting the global balance of power. Core institutions such as WHO, UNAIDS, and the Global Fund face leadership transitions and structural upheaval. Technology is advancing faster than policies can keep up, while financing grows more complex through new partnerships and dealmaking models.

At WHA79 in Geneva, Devex Impact House will bring these dynamics into focus over live journalism, curated roundtables, and intentional networking events. We’ll ask the leaders, funders, and innovators shaping this landscape a simple but urgent question: Can global health turn its visions into action — and deliver?

Join our early access list to get notified when registration opens. Interested in partnering? Contact us here.

Program

8:00-
9:30 a.m. CET

Kidney Health for All: Delivering Comprehensive Care from Prevention to Treatment

In partnership with the International Society of Nephrology

Learn more about the event here.

9:30-
11:30 a.m. CET

Event on Maternal Health | Details forthcoming

In partnership with MSD for Mothers

11:00 a.m.-
12:30 p.m. CET

Beyond the Medicine: Building Family-Centered Cancer Care

In partnership with Amgen

Learn more about the event here.

12:30-
1:30 p.m. CET

Lunch & Networking

Health Sovereignty & Shifting Power

As African health sovereignty agendas advance and new global funders expand their reach, this series of conversations will explore how power is shifting from traditional aid models to a more fragmented landscape where countries may increasingly act as customers rather than recipients.

1:30-
3:45 p.m. CET

Featuring:

Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate

Coordinating minister of health and social welfare, Nigeria

A partner spotlight with Vestergaard

Amar Ali, chief executive officer, Vestergaard

Amy Weaver

CEO, Direct Relief

Strengthening Health Sovereignty: The Example of Home-Based Dialysis

In partnership with Vantive
Magnus Lindholm, president, Europe, Middle East and Africa region, Vantive Health GmbH

More speakers announced soon.

The New Global Health Financing Playbook

Global health financing is shifting beyond traditional aid. This series of conversations will explore how deals, philanthropy, debt swaps, and private-sector models are redefining how care is funded, and what this means for persistent gaps in areas like HIV, family planning, neglected tropical diseases, and primary care.

3:45-
5:30 p.m. CET

Featuring interviews with:

Peter Sands

Executive director, The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Sania Nishtar

CEO, GAVI

Dr. Kalipso Chalkidou

Director of the performance, financing and delivery department, World Health Organization

Dr. Bill Steiger

Chief executive officer, Malaria No More

Josophine Kalombola

Community health worker advocate and representative, Community Health Impact Coalition

Driving National Leadership in the Prevention of Chronic Diseases

In partnership with AstraZeneca

Shaping the Future of Integrated Health Checks: What the Evidence Says

In partnership with AstraZeneca

More speakers announced soon.

5:15-
6:45 p.m. CET

Delivering the Road Map for Chronic Respiratory Disease Care

In partnership with Sanofi and Regeneration

Learn more about the event here.

6:45-
7:45 p.m. CET

Networking Dinner

In partnership with Sanofi and Regeneration

8:00-
9:30 a.m. CET

The Business Case for Health: Why Global Health Investment Should be a Life Sciences Imperative

In partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and CARE

9:15-
11:00 a.m. CET

Rethinking Elimination: Integration and Innovation for Sustainable Diseases Elimination

In partnership with GLIDE

Learn more about the event here.

Innovation Under Constraint

As funding tightens, new models for delivering health impact are emerging. This series of conversations will explore how innovators, from startups to governments to philanthropies, are redesigning service delivery, financing, and partnerships to do more with less.

11:15 a.m.-
1:30 p.m. CET

Featuring:

A partner spotlight with Valent Biosciences

Jason Clark, Global managing director, health division, Valent BioSciences LLC

Silas Majambere, Business manager of Africa, Europe and Middle East, Valent BioSciences LLC

A video spotlight with Solutions Insight Lab

Abigail Steinberg

Executive director, Livelihood Impact Fund

Julius Mbeya

Co-CEO, Lwala Community Alliance

More speakers announced soon.

12:45-
1:30 p.m. CET

Lunch & Networking

The Changing Global Health Architecture

Leadership transitions and structural reforms across major global health institutions are reshaping the system. This conversation will explore what changes at the World Health Organization, Global Fund, UNAIDS, and UNITAID mean for coordination, accountability, and deliver, particularly as U.S. bilateral approaches shift the dynamics in Geneva.

1:30-
3:30 p.m. CET

Featuring:

Beyond Access: Rethinking Partnerships for Health System Resilience

In partnership Accord for a Healthier World

Prof Lawrence Gostin

Distinguished university professor at Georgetown University and director of the WHO Center on Global Health Law

A partner spotlight with McKinsey Health Institute

A partner spotlight with Sightsavers

Dr. Sunday Isiyaku, Executive Director, Sightsavers

More speakers announced soon.

Technology, AI & the Future of Delivery

This series of conversations will explore how AI, digital health, biotech, supply chains, and climate-health innovation are changing how care is delivered, and how countries are asserting digital and technological sovereignty.

3:30-
5:30 p.m. CET