His Excellency Hassan Al Thawadi addressed the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) today in a keynote speech, during which he stated that: “Our collective future hinges on a coordinated and coherent approach to public health, both physical and mental. This was a necessity before the spread of COVID, and that necessity is now an imperative.”
Speaking on Day 4 of the virtual event in his capacity as Secretary General of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), Al Thawadi spoke about the steps the organization has taken to protect the health and safety of its staff, including multilingual awareness sessions provided by in-house health experts.
“The proactive strategy we employed enabled us to manage the spread of COVID-19 on our projects for up to six weeks until the first case was reported. Under the guidance and approval of the local health authorities, we introduced our own 1,000-bed capacity isolation facility to ensure the monitoring and maintenance of strict quarantine protocol to minimize the spread of infection among the rest of the workforce.”
He added that sport must be considered a critical vehicle for contributing to the shared mission of maintaining physical and mental health across the globe.
“As societies strive to emerge from lockdowns, sport is playing an important role in our journey toward a return to normalcy.”
Al Thawadi, who also serves as Chairman of the FIFA World Cup™ Qatar 2022 LLC, a joint venture between FIFA and the SC responsible for organizing and staging the event, argued sport can be used in a variety of ways to preserve mental and physical health.
“We all remember the power that sport has to contribute to our shared cause, and to ensure we harness that power in the future for the sake of public health, community, and a brighter future for the generations to come.”
Al Thawadi also spoke of looking forward to November 2022, when the upcoming FIFA World Cup is due to take place, and talked of a post-COVID celebration of the event, being held on the international stage in the Middle East for the first time.
He said: “We sincerely hope that we’re able to welcome as many visitors as possible to our country – and to our region – many of whom will be visiting for the first time and experiencing their first taste of the Middle East and the Arab world.”
WISH, Qatar Foundation’s global health initiative, is dedicated to capturing and disseminating the best evidence-based ideas and practices with a mission to create a healthier world through global collaboration.
At its heart, WISH is a biennial global gathering that brings healthcare leaders, practitioners, advocates, researchers, and idea generators together. Due to the restrictions posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, WISH 2020 is taking place virtually under the banner of ‘One World, Our Health’, from November 15-19.
Register now to attend the free virtual summit at: https://2020.wish.org.qa/register/