The World Hospital Congress, organised by the International Hospital Federation (IHF), brings together hospital leaders and healthcare system executives to connect around global learning for local action.

This annual congress offers a forum to exchange best practices in leadership and management of healthcare delivery.

This year’s event will be the 46th World Hospital Congress, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal from 25–27 October, and is organised by the IHF with a host country consortium composed of the Portuguese Association for Hospital Development (APDH), Portuguese Association of Hospital Managers (APAH), and Portuguese Association of Private Hospitals (APHP). The event is presented under the High Patronage of the President of the Portuguese Republic.

Ronald Lavater, CEO of the IHF, said: “The three Portuguese institutions that have come together to host the World Hospital Congress are a great example of how public and private service providers can work together to lead the conversation about the future of healthcare delivery.”

The consortium also emphasised the importance of healthcare executives investing in knowledge exchange with worldwide peers to continually improve service provision and decision-making. It said: “We are convinced that the conclusions which will be reached in Lisbon will be a reference for new solutions in people's access to medical care and for the resilience and sustainability of health systems.

“At a time when health is at the top of citizens’ priorities – in Portugal and throughout the world – this debate will also contribute to strengthening the public discussion around such a relevant area of concern in our lives.”

Abstracts for the agenda

The IHF is calling for abstracts for the scientific programme to be submitted.

Hospital and healthcare executives, managers, professionals, and providers, as well as government, academic and research institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are invited to submit their abstracts. The call for submissions includes projects and programmes that showcase innovations, models, and examples of leadership.

The theme is ‘Tomorrow’s world’ and there are five thematic tracks that abstracts can be submitted for, which are:

• Track one: Leaders successfully navigating the future
• Track two: Wellbeing and the future for our professionals
• Track three: Innovative approaches to providing healthcare
• Track four: The ever-expanding digital landscape
• Track five: Next-generation, climate-resilient, and sustainable healthcare.

The deadline for submissions is 5 April 2023.

Sustainability will be integral to the organisation and delivery of the 46th World Hospital Congress. Reflected in Track five of the scientific content’s theme, the IHF established the Geneva Sustainability Centre in 2022 to support hospitals and healthcare executives leading the transformation to low carbon, resilient, and sustainable healthcare. The Geneva Sustainability Centre’s mission is also to embed good practice into all IHF activities, including the Congress.