Participation of the Head of the Department of Public Health and Health Care Management and TSMU Medical Students in the World Health Summit 2025

Thanks to the long-term international cooperation between I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University (TNMU) and Akkon University of Human Sciences in Berlin (https://www.akkon-hochschule.de/en/international), as well as with the support of Professor Timo Ulrichs, Director of the Institute for Research and International Cooperation at Akkon University, representatives of TNMU — Professor Hanna Saturska, Head of the Department of Public Health and Health Care Management, and medical students Sofiia Nepeliak and Yuliia Kalchenia — visited Berlin.

They participated in the 7th International Young Scientists Symposium on Global Health, traditionally held at Akkon University on October 11–12, 2025, attended the Virchow Prize Award Ceremony held at the historic Red City Hall of Berlin on October 11, 2025, and took part in the World Health Summit 2025 (https://www.worldhealthsummit.org/events/annual-whs) on October 12–14, 2025.

The satellite scientific event of the World Health Summit — the 7th International Young Scientists Symposium on Global Health — began with welcoming speeches by Professor Timo Ulrichs and Dr. Gabi Feldmann, who addressed young researchers from around the world, wishing them scientific success in the field of public health and encouraging international and interdisciplinary cooperation to address urgent global health issues.

A special highlight of the event was the opening of the exhibition “Unseen Diplomas” at Akkon University of Human Sciences in Berlin, which presented photos and stories of forty Ukrainian students who lost their lives due to the war and were unable to complete their education or fulfill their professional dreams.

Professor Hanna Saturska delivered a speech at the opening of the exhibition and the symposium, emphasizing the importance of support for Ukraine from EU countries and the entire international community in the fight against the aggressor that threatens the independence of our state and causes immense suffering, including the loss of talented youth. She also underlined the role of young scientists in uniting progressive forces of society and preserving democratic values for the future of humanity.

Throughout the two days of the symposium, TNMU students attended presentations by researchers from South Africa, Pakistan, Yemen, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Georgia. They also presented parts of their own research in a presentation titled “Effect of the War in Ukraine on the Mental Health of Medical Students and the Level of Anxiety of Children.”

The presentation by Sofiia Nepeliak and Yuliia Kalchenia aroused great interest and sparked a lively discussion, during which the students provided thoughtful answers to questions from young scientists representing other universities.

The Virchow Prize Award Ceremony took place on the evening of October 11, 2025. It was organized by the Virchow Foundation (https://virchowprize.org/) under the patronage of Berlin’s Mayor Kai Wegner. This year’s laureates — Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, clinical epidemiologist, and Professor Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, pediatrician and global health scientist — received the prestigious Virchow Prize awards and commemorative statuettes. The ceremony also offered opportunities for networking with the laureates and other distinguished guests (a video recording of the event is available on the Virchow Foundation website: https://virchowprize.org/).

The TNMU delegation sincerely thanks Professor Timo Ulrichs and the German Federal Ministry of Health for the invitation to this important event.

From October 12 to 14, 2025, the TNMU representatives participated in the World Health Summit, one of the leading global strategic forums in the field of health care, organized under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO). This year, the event brought together 300 speakers and 2,500 participants from 100 countries. The speakers included leading experts in science, policy, business, and public health, as well as Ministers of Health from various countries.

During the Summit, the students attended plenary and sectional sessions, panel discussions, and workshops on diverse and relevant topics, such as the implementation of artificial intelligence in medicine and public health, antimicrobial resistance, gender inequality in health care, and the impact of global warming on population health. They also took part in engaging discussions and exchanged experiences with other participants.

Additionally, the students had the opportunity to visit the Bundestag in Berlin and learn about the functioning of democratic governance, including the principles and processes of lawmaking and decision-making in Germany.

We express our sincere gratitude to the TNMU administration for fostering and maintaining international cooperation with partner universities abroad, as well as to our colleagues at Akkon University in Berlin for providing the opportunity to participate in the World Health Summit 2025, the Virchow Prize Award Ceremony, and the 7th International Young Scientists Symposium on Global Health, where TNMU students were able to present the results of their scientific work at the international level.