International Hospital Federation announces award winners of 2024

On 11 September 2024, the International Hospital Federation (IHF) held its annual Award Ceremony and Gala Dinner to celebrate excellence in hospital and healthcare leadership.

The Awards Ceremony was a highlight of the 47^th World Hospital Congress.

The exemplary work of hospitals from 23 countries and territories was recognised for initiatives that improve the level, quality, and sustainability of healthcare service delivery. The IHF Awards promote the exchange of good practices in key areas of healthcare leadership, environmental sustainability, and innovation. Finalists were selected across the seven award categories and earned Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards as well as honourable mentions in each category.

The Awards Committee, composed of health leaders from around the world and chaired by Dr Lawrence Lai, IHF Honorary Member, scored over 500 entries submitted from 37 countries and territories.

The full list of winners in each category can be found here.

Scoring for the six Excellence Awards is based on five criteria: originality and innovation; intended impact; adaptability and scalability; scientific rigour; and clarity. For the Grand Hospital Award, entries were scored based on overall success in achieving the five dimensions of healthcare delivery (health service quality, patient experience, clinical outcomes and health equity, cost efficiency, and workforce wellbeing), as well as ability to sustain their success, and achievements.

This year’s Gold winners presented their winning programmes and projects in a special session at the Congress on Thursday 12 September.

Closing the 47th World Hospital Congress

The Congress ended with a motivational message about the potential of the health sector’s leaders to improve health outcomes for their local communities through the knowledge exchanged during the event.

The Congress had returned to Rio de Janeiro 15 years after the last Brazilian edition of the event for global leaders and decision-makers in the healthcare community. Co-organised by the IHF and the Brazilian Hospital Federation, the theme for this gathering was ‘Global learning, local action’.

In a video address to Congress delegates, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), discussed the evolution of the role of hospitals in delivering universal health coverage: “With integrated planning, hospitals can reinforce the vital role of primary care, in preventing or delaying the need for people to use hospitals. Of course, when people do need hospitals, they must be able to deliver high-quality, safe, and person-centred care.”

The 2025 IHF Awards will take place at the 48th World Hospital Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, – marking the 10th year of the IHF Awards. The call for entries will be announced in February 2025.