WISH CEO joins Humanitarian Congress Tokyo 2026 to demand stronger protection for healthcare in conflict
The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) will play a leading role in urgent global discussions on attacks against healthcare at the Humanitarian Congress Tokyo 2026, convened by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
WISH CEO Dr Slim Slama will serve as a panelist in a high-level session marking the tenth anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2286, which calls on states to protect medical care in situations of armed conflict. The session, “Attacks on medical care 10 years after UNSC Resolution 2286,” will bring together experts from MSF, Insecurity Insight, Ritsumeikan University and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to examine how, despite a strong legal framework, attacks on healthcare have escalated to unprecedented levels.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 1,370 attacks on medical care were recorded in 2025, with the largest numbers of incidents documented in Ukraine and Palestine and the highest number of deaths linked to attacks on healthcare occurring in Sudan. These attacks include the bombing and shelling of hospitals and clinics, the obstruction of ambulances, and violence against health workers, patients and caregivers.
The Congress, held under the theme “Humanitarianism in a transforming world order,” comes at a time when geopolitical shifts, the politicisation of aid, and double standards in the application of international law are eroding the foundations of humanitarian action. In this context, protecting healthcare has become a critical test of the international community’s commitment to humanitarian principles.
Dr Slama’s participation builds on WISH’s growing body of work on attacks on health. In 2024, WISH and WHO jointly launched In the Line of Fire: Protecting Health in Armed Conflict, a flagship report that documents trends in attacks on healthcare and sets out priority recommendations for governments, international organisations and civil society to prevent and respond to such violations. In 2025, WISH convened a major panel at the Qatar Pavilion at Expo Osaka titled “Protecting Health in Armed Conflict,” bringing together representatives from MSF, WHO, UNRWA and the ICRC to advance collective action and build a coalition of actors committed to ending impunity.
Through evidence generation, high-level dialogue and coalition-building, WISH aims to help ensure that attacks on health are not normalised and that protecting healthcare in conflict is treated as a non‑negotiable obligation under international humanitarian law. More information on Humanitarian Congress Tokyo 2026 is available on the Congress website: https://www.msf.or.jp/congress/
