Doha, Qatar, October 28, 2026: Amid growing humanitarian challenges in conflict and crisis settings across the region and worldwide, and increasing threats to the health of women, mothers, newborns, and children, the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council), in partnership with the Gates Foundation, organized the Doha Health Initiative for the Global South 2026 Annual Convening. Held from October 26 to 28, the convening addressed the theme “Accelerating Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health: From Evidence to Country Action.”
The convening brought together policymakers, officials, and experts to exchange experiences and discuss challenges threatening the continuity of essential health services for vulnerable populations amid armed conflict, damaged health infrastructure, and rising humanitarian needs. Discussions focused on the policies, financing, and partnerships needed to strengthen national health systems and their capacity to respond to crises, as resources face growing pressure and international funding priorities shift.
The convening concluded with a high-level public panel discussion, organized in partnership with Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and in collaboration with Qatar University, titled “Protecting Women’s Health in Fragile Settings.” The panel brought together Eng. Mohammad Jamal Alsaati, Special Adviser to the President, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB); Dr. Sanjana Bhardwaj, Deputy Director, Women’s and Children’s Health and Primary Health Care Policy Advocacy, Gates Foundation; Dr. Rayana Bou Haka, Country Representative–Qatar, World Health Organization (WHO); and Ms. Isra Chaker, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Every Pregnancy.
In his opening remarks Dr. Khalid Al-Jaber, Executive Director, ME Council, said: “Global disruptions are placing growing pressure on development efforts and resources, making discussions about the policies and financing needed to sustain essential health services in fragile and conflict-affected settings increasingly important. The Doha Health Initiative for the Global South provides a space to exchange experiences and strengthen cooperation, helping health systems respond to national priorities, local needs, and challenges.”
Ms. Dana Al-Misnad, Director of Programs & Projects at QFFD explained in her remarks that “in fragile settings, the greatest threat to a mother’s life is often not the absence of care, but the unpredictability of the financing that sustains it. A health system cannot retain a midwife, maintain a cold chain, or keep a referral pathway open on funding that arrives project by project and ends without warning.
Qatar Fund for Development is changing how we finance in these environments. Our focus is on instruments that extend the planning horizon of national health authorities rather than our own visibility, including pooled, concessional, and results-based financing aligned behind a single national plan, not running alongside it. Where national systems are weakened, external support must be designed to reinforce them, not to substitute for them.
The measure of a contribution is not what is disbursed. It is whether the health authority emerges from a crisis with more capacity than it entered with.”
Moderated by Dr. Hanan F. Abdul Rahim, Dean, College of Health Sciences, Qatar University, the panel examined the leadership, policy, and financing approaches needed to protect these services. Speakers shared perspectives on strengthening national health systems’ capacity to respond to the needs of those most affected.
Eng. Mohammad Jamal Alsaati, Special Adviser to the President, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), stated that, “for five decades, IsDB has stood with its member countries to build resilient health systems. Through the Bank’s resources, the IsDB Concessional Fund (ICF), the Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF), and other dedicated programs and initiatives, we are turning partnership into predictable, affordable financing, ensuring that no mother or child in a fragile setting is left without care.”
Dr. Sanjana Bhardwaj, Deputy Director, Women’s and Children’s Health and Primary Health Care Policy Advocacy, Gates Foundation, said, “At the Gates Foundation, our goal is clear: no mother, baby or child should die from a preventable cause. We know what works to save lives, but progress depends on ensuring proven solutions reach those who need them most. Achieving this requires country leadership, backed by partners who bring the expertise and financing needed to drive progress. Through the Doha Health Initiative, we are strengthening these partnerships to scale lifesaving interventions through national health systems and deliver lasting improvements in the health of women and children.”
Dr. Rayana Bou Haka, Country Representative–Qatar, World Health Organization (WHO), noted the importance of preparedness and planning, anchoring coordinated response activities through phased strategies with prioritization of lifesaving and essential Maternal, newborn and child services in the acute phases as per needs, stabilizing and expanding through a longer-term health system recovery approach engaging and consulting affected communities.
Ms. Isra Chaker, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Every Pregnancy stated “we do not lack the knowledge to save mothers and newborns. We lack the collective urgency to ensure that knowledge reaches those who need it most. In fragile settings, funding decisions and fragmented systems can mean the difference between life and death. At Every Pregnancy, we believe collaboration must go beyond commitments to deliver lasting change. The true measure of our success is not what we promise in rooms like these, but how many mothers and newborns survive because of what we do next.”
The DHI 2026 Annual Convening brought together health policymakers and technical leaders from the Global South, alongside stakeholders from Qatar and regional and international partners. Participants included representatives of ministries of public health, Qatar’s Primary Health Care Corporation, the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation, Qatar Fund for Development, Qatar University, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and Hamad Medical Corporation , as well as research institutions and development and humanitarian organizations.
The ME Council launched the Doha Health Initiative for the Global South in 2024 in partnership with the Gates Foundation and with support from the Government of Qatar. The initiative promotes South–South cooperation and the exchange of expertise, while supporting country-led solutions to build more equitable and resilient health systems.