Health Innovation Exchange

Without a Buyer, There Is No Impact:
Rethinking How Health Innovations Scale (WHA79 Side Session)

The global health sector has become increasingly sophisticated at supporting innovation. From accelerators and innovation challenges to impact funds and ecosystem partnerships, there is no shortage of effort being invested in finding the next breakthrough.

Yet one of the most thought-provoking discussions during this side session focused on a less celebrated question: What happens after the breakthrough?

The session brought together innovators, governments, donors, and development partners to unpack why so many promising solutions struggle to move beyond pilot projects. While innovation often captures attention, adoption remains the true test of impact.

What emerged from the conversation was the recognition that health systems evaluate innovation differently from investors or entrepreneurs. Beyond effectiveness, there are questions of affordability, procurement, sustainability, and long-term ownership.

As the sector continues to champion innovation, perhaps equal attention should be given to the systems expected to adopt it. After all, healthcare impact is not measured by what is invented but by what is implemented.

We would like to thank our partner, UNICEF, for this thought-provoking side session and for the government leaders, procurement specialists, innovators, donors, and ecosystem partners who contributed their expertise and perspectives to this important discussion.

Reverse Pitch - Governments Setting the Innovation Agenda.
Ministers present real health system challenges in demand-driven dialogue (WHA79 Side Session)

Our popular Reverse Pitch side session at WHA79 challenged the traditional innovation model by placing governments and health leaders at the centre of the conversation.

Instead of innovators pitching their technologies, countries took the lead by presenting the real challenges they are trying to solve, ranging from health workforce shortages and digital transformation to maternal and child health, service delivery, and climate resilience.

One of the most interesting questions raised during this HIEx session was whether the global health sector has become better at developing solutions than understanding the problems those solutions are meant to solve.

Across the discussion, a striking observation emerged…Despite differences in geography, income levels and healthcare systems, many countries are wrestling with remarkably similar issues.

This raises an important question: As investment in innovation continues to accelerate, are we spending enough time listening to those responsible for implementation?

Innovation often begins with possibility. Adoption begins with relevance.

The session reinforced the idea that meaningful innovation is not measured by how disruptive it is, but by how effectively it responds to real-world needs. And perhaps the future belongs not to the loudest solutions, but to the most useful ones.

HIEx would like to thank everyone who contributed to this session. It is because of your willingness to place real challenges on the table that Reverse Pitch remains one of the most practical and solution-oriented side sessions at WHA

Preparedness Re-Imagined
Diagnostics in the Era of Pandemics and Climate Change (WHA79 Side Session)

For years, preparedness has been treated as something we invest in after a crisis reminds us why it matters. The Preparedness Re-Imagined side session at WHA79 challenged that mindset entirely.

The session explored how countries can strengthen resilience in an increasingly complex world shaped by climate change, emerging diseases, health security threats, and growing system pressures.

It became clear in the discussion that preparedness can’t sit in a separate box anymore. It’s the full system working together, strong diagnostics and surveillance, resilient primary healthcare, local manufacturing capacity, and the leadership to coordinate it all.

Too often, resilience is measured by how effectively systems respond during a crisis. Yet some of the most insightful contributions focused on what happens long before emergencies occur.

Investments in local capacity, stronger health systems, and innovation ecosystems may ultimately be the most important preparedness interventions of all.

The conversation also highlighted an important shift taking place globally. Countries are increasingly recognizing that resilience cannot be imported indefinitely.

It must be built.

As climate and health challenges become more interconnected, the distinction between preparedness and health system strengthening becomes increasingly difficult to separate. Perhaps that is exactly as it should be.

HIEx would like to thank Reme-D and all participating government representatives, preparedness experts, diagnostic innovators, and health security leaders for sharing their experiences and expertise.

Special appreciation to the delegations from Egypt and Kenya whose practical examples highlighted what resilience looks like in action.

From Pitch to Scale: Breakthroughs to Bankability
Bridging innovation and financing for scalable health solutions (WHA79 Side Session)

One of the more uncomfortable truths discussed during this session is that the health sector might not have an innovation problem…but rather an adoption problem.

The session brought together innovators, investors, development partners, and ecosystem builders to explore why so many promising solutions fail to move beyond the pilot stage despite demonstrating clear value.

Throughout the discussion, innovators showcased solutions addressing healthcare delivery, digital health, medical logistics, sustainability, and access. Yet a recurring theme emerged:

“Capital matters.” But capital alone does not create scale.

The conversation challenged a common assumption within the innovation ecosystem. We often celebrate fundraising milestones as indicators of success but securing investment and achieving adoption are not the same thing.

Scale happens when solutions become embedded within systems. When policymakers support them.

When healthcare providers trust them. When procurement pathways exist. When implementation becomes sustainable.

Perhaps the question the sector should be asking is not how we fund more innovation. Perhaps it is how we build stronger bridges between innovation and implementation. Because a successful pitch is not the finish line. In many cases, it is only the beginning.

HIEx extends its sincere appreciation to all participating innovators, investors, development finance partners, corporate leaders, and ecosystem builders who contributed to this important discussion.

We would like to especially thank our partners WHO GTMC, Reckitt Catalyst, Pegasus, Bioprevail, Bayer Foundation, Symbiotics, Global Health Security Fund and Stop TB who shared their solutions and challenged us to think differently about what it truly takes to scale impact.

Catalysts on the Rise - Backing Bold Entrepreneurs, Building Inclusive Systems (WHA79 Side Session)

When the truth lands in a room, you can feel it. At our Catalysts on the Rise side session at this year’s WHA, the morning started with a reality check: Women make up ~70% of the health workforce yet receive less than 2% of venture capital.

But the core message of the session was not “we need more funding.” It was that funding alone won’t get solutions to scale. What founders need are the enabling systems around them: Procurement pathways, institutional uptake, policy engagement, and networks that unlock real market access.

“Advocacy is no longer enough. We need to act.”

We heard the phrase that many innovators quietly live through: “Pilot purgatory” - repeated pilots without a structured route to adoption.

The encouraging part is that we also discussed what does work. Reckitt Catalyst shared an ecosystem approach that combines capital with mentorship and practical network access, while HIEx’s role is to help connect innovators to the government and policy decision-makers who ultimately enable scale.

If we want inclusive innovation to be more than a slogan, we need to build the machinery of adoption, clearer procurement routes, stronger institutional pathways, and coordinated partnerships that move founders from traction into system integration.

We would like to thank Reckitt Catalyst and the Canton of Geneva for partnering with HIEx on this session and for helping bring the right mix of catalytic support, ecosystem connections, private and public-sector engagement into the room to move inclusive innovation from conversation to real pathways for scale.

Engineering the Future of Health - Reshaping prevention, diagnosis and advanced gene therapy (WHA79 Side Session)

The “Engineering the Future of Health” session at WHA focused on a simple point: Breakthrough science only becomes breakthrough impact when health systems are ready to carry it.

“Innovation needs systems that are ready to absorb innovation.”

Across the panel, three practical threads came through clearly:

• Cancer care must be treated as a full pathway, not a single intervention, from prevention and early detection through to treatment, follow-up and patient support. City-level ecosystem work is proving to be a powerful “testbed” for making that pathway real.

• Technology can connect the journey, from risk evaluation and early detection to coordination and clinical decision support, helping people move to the next step in care, not just the next test.

• Advanced therapies don’t have to be a luxury; we heard a compelling case for tech transfer and local manufacturing as practical routes to affordability.

Moving forward we need to keep pushing on the unglamorous but essential work, system readiness, integrated pathways, and financing and partnerships that make access scalable (not exceptional). That is how prevention, diagnosis, and next-generation therapies start reaching the people who need them most.

HIEx would like to thank our partners Caring Cross, City Cancer Challenge and City of Kochi for your contribution and invaluable insights during this session.

Engineering the Future of Health
Reshaping prevention, diagnosis and advanced gene therapy

Bioengineering and frontier science are moving fast, and the real opportunity now is translation: Turning breakthrough discovery into health solutions that can actually be deployed, adopted, and scaled.

At WHA79, HIEx and partners are hosting a focused session on how research partnerships and strong innovation ecosystems can speed up the journey from lab to real-world impact, especially in underserved settings. We’ll explore what it takes to move from promising science to scalable prevention, better diagnostics, and next-generation therapeutic innovation, including advanced gene therapy.

📅 19 May 2026
🕢 07:30 – 08:45
📍 InterContinental Hotel Geneva | Ballroom B/C

🤝 Partners: Caring Cross | City Cancer Challenge | City of Kochi

🎟️ Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1986427338643?aff=oddtdtcreator

WHA79 SIDE SESSION:

Traditional Medicine Innovation for Health Impact
Financing, Collaboration, and Future Pathways

As health systems look for approaches that are more people-centred, affordable, and accessible, the question is no longer whether traditional medicine has a role, but how it can be integrated responsibly and at scale.

At WHA79, HIEx and WHO GTMC will convene WHO, Member States, private sector and academia to focus on the practical path from evidence to implementation. The session will unpack what it takes to scale credible, community-rooted innovations, including the policy and financing barriers that slow adoption, collaboration models that work, and future pathways that strengthen equity and access.

📅 19 May 2026
🕓 16:00 – 16:45
📍 InterContinental Hotel Geneva | Ballroom B/C
🤝 Partner: WHO GTMC

🔗 Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1989141810702?aff=oddtdtcreator

WHA79 SIDE SESSION:

Without a Buyer, There Is No Impact:
Rethinking How Health Innovations Scale

Global health doesn’t lack innovation. Join HIEx and UNICEF for a focused conversation on what it takes to move proven solutions into real public-sector scale. What is missing is the pathway for proven solutions to be bought, funded, and sustained at scale within public-sector.

This session focuses on the “demand problem” that keeps strong innovations stuck between pilot and wide-spread institutionalization, and what it takes to build demand across the layers that matter: Policy prioritisation, institutional ownership, budget allocation, and operational/procurement pathways.

Expect a buyer-centred conversation on how to:
• Generate layered demand and identify the real buyer
• Design for government systems and real delivery constraints
• Build sustainable financing pathways that endure after partner support exits

📅 19 May 2026
🕐 13:00 – 13:45
📍 InterContinental Hotel Geneva

🤝 Partners: UNICEF

🔗 Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1989141704384?aff=oddtdtcreator

WHA79 SIDE SESSION:

Preparedness Re-Imagined
Diagnostics in the Era of Pandemics and Climate Change

Health emergencies are becoming more complex at the same time that health resources are shifting and climate change is creating new regional risks.

The way we plan for preparedness can’t stay static.

At WHA79, HIEx and Reme-D are convening a focused session on how accessible diagnostics can strengthen preparedness and climate resilience, and why regional resources, know-how, and implementation approaches matter more than ever.

We’ll explore what practical, scalable diagnostic readiness looks like when outbreaks, disruption, and climate shocks are no longer exceptions, but part of the operating environment.

📅 19 May 2026
🕚 11:00 – 11:45
📍 InterContinental Hotel Geneva | Ballroom B/C
🤝 Partner: Reme-D

🎟️ Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1988552541181?aff=oddtdtcreator