Kamel Ghribi, president of Gksd and vice president of the Gruppo San Donato (Gsd), met in Geneva with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Their discussion focused on the main global health challenges and the development of national health systems. They emphasized the need to improve access to quality care, strengthen health workforce training, and enhance national systems’ ability to meet population needs, with particular attention to Africa and other regions facing fragility.

According to a statement from the hospital group, they also discussed the quality of Italian healthcare. The WHO Director-General praised Ghribi and Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital for the humanitarian initiative led by Gsd and Gksd to support the Lebanese population, which includes sending medicines, supplies and medical equipment and providing qualified medical expertise. “The discussion was particularly important because it confirmed that health is one of the major global issues today,” Ghribi said. “I especially appreciated the recognition of the value of the initiative we are promoting for Lebanon together with San Raffaele. In times of hardship, solidarity must be translated into concrete actions.”

Ghribi and Adhanom Ghebreyesus also explored the challenges facing health systems, from prevention and research to innovation and professional education, agreeing on the importance of investing in skills and the quality of care. “Health,” Ghribi concluded, “is a universal right and one of the fundamental infrastructures of human development. Investing in people, knowledge and the quality of care helps build stronger, more stable societies that can look to the future.”