This week I have been delighted to join the World Innovation Summit for Health 2022, an initiative of the Qatar Foundation, held in Doha this year, as a speaker, moderator and participant.

Born through the need to convene global experts to look for collaborative and innovative solutions to tackle global health challenges – WISH Qatar and the Qatar Foundation are inspiring drivers of change, dedicated to uplifting community development for all, established and invested in evidence-based ideas and practice.

As a moderator, I had the pleasure of joining H.E. Jeannette Kagame – First Lady, Rwanda, H.E. Fatima Maada Bio – First Lady, Sierra Leone, and H.E. Vivian Torrij – Former First Lady, Panama, for an invigorating conversation on Child and Maternal Health which assessed the global efforts on reducing maternal mortality and newborn deaths, to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, through collaborative scientific research, trusted frontline work, and policy reform.

As a panellist, I had the great opportunity of Promoting Child Wellbeing: Lessons from COVID-19 alongside H.H. Sayyida Basma Al Said, Founder, Whispers of Serenity Clinic, Oman Professor Muhammad Waqar Azeem, Inaugural Chair of Psychiatry/Child Psychiatry Sidra Medicine, Victoria Hornby, CEO, Mental Health Innovations, UK and Moderated by Luisa Baldini of BBC. We discussed in-depth the long-term psychosocial and mental health implications for our children and adolescents due to the disruption of the pandemic, and how we can mitigate and address the adverse effects of the pandemic and draw out lessons for policymakers across the globe.

We must embolden our children, while we catalyse investment, from health literacy, programming and policy to begin and protect from birth to age, addressing their unique needs and resources at every phase in life.