WISH to host panel on Islamic Ethics in November

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) will host a panel on Islamic Ethics during its two-day 2016 conference, which begins on November 29 in Doha. Using hypothetical case studies, the panel will provide answers to ethical questions surrounding genomics in Arab Muslim countries and the Gulf region where this new discipline has attracted increased interest over the past few years. It will address issues such as managing the “return of incidental findings”, which involve various stakeholders, including healthcare professionals and policymakers.Dr Mohamed Ghaly, panel moderator and professor of Islam and Biomedical Ethic at the Research Centre for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), said: “Discussions will focus on finding the right balance between openness to new healthcare practices and Islamic traditions. Our conclusions will combine these two elements to provide policy recommendations in the context of healthcare delivery.”CILE is a member of Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.Dr Eman Sadoun, chair of the Qatar National Research Ethics Committee at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), said: “The MoPH offers a set of guidelines that assists investigators and Institutional Review Boards in the design and conduct of genomic research to ensure the safety and well-being of participants.”Egbert Schillings, CEO of WISH, noted: “We are delighted to be working with CILE once again in tackling some of the thorniest ethical issues in modern healthcare.” For the first time since the launch of the WISH Summit, the Islamic Ethics Panel will produce a report that will include policy recommendations on how to create culturally sensitive guidelines. The report will lay out various hypothetical scenarios to help tackle such issues from an Islamic perspective. The WISH 2016 Summit will feature seven groundbreaking research forums that highlight and address some of the world’s most pressing healthcare challenges. The forums will generate interdisciplinary, evidence-based reports on topics such as healthy populations, precision medicine, economic benefits of investing in health, accountable care, cardiovascular disease, autism and behavioural insights.Internationally-renowned experts will chair the discussions. For the first time, WISH will also report on its impact, locally and globally, on issues previously highlighted at the conference, such as diabetes and patient safety.The summit will feature innovation showcases from around the world that are shaping the design, delivery and financing of care, as well as a cohort of young innovators, emerging healthcare leaders under the age of 30, whose contributions to global health deserve wider recognition.