With the 1st German Health Resilience Conference, MEDICA in Düsseldorf is expanding its programme to include a new format aimed at strengthening resilient healthcare systems. The conference will take place from 16 to 19 November as part of MEDICA 2026 and is being organised by Messe Düsseldorf in cooperation with the German Health Alliance (GHA). It addresses strategic and operational issues relating to societal resilience in the healthcare sector and, for the first time, brings together key stakeholders from healthcare provision, politics, industry, and disaster and civil protection for a structured, cross-sectoral exchange.
The new conference is part of the strategic development of MEDICA and addresses a topic that has gained significant importance in recent years. The focus is on the ability of the holistic healthcare system to respond to crises, as well as on ensuring stable care structures in the long term, particularly against the backdrop of increasing geopolitical tensions, systemic risks and growing demands on critical infrastructure.
“Resilience has long been a central management task for modern healthcare systems. With this new conference, we are creating a framework in which strategic issues and operational experience are brought together,” explains Carmen Berger, Director MEDICA and COMPAMED at Messe Düsseldorf.
Agenda combines strategy and operational practice
The agenda of the 1st German Health Resilience Conference combines strategic issues with concrete application scenarios. Key topics include, amongst others:
- Governance and system responsibility in the tension between efficiency and resilience
- Hospital and disaster management, including emergency and operational planning
- Protection of critical infrastructure (KRITIS) and IT security
- Resilience in healthcare practice – from hospitals and outpatient facilities to pharmacies and emergency services
- Civil-military cooperation in healthcare provision and self-help for the population under extreme conditions
Initial programme highlights provide insight into the depth of content
Initial thematic priorities are already emerging within these areas: topics under discussion include strategies for ensuring healthcare provision in crisis situations, requirements for resilient hospital structures, and approaches to strengthening regional and supra-regional healthcare networks.
In addition, contributions are expected to address the role of digital technologies in the resilience of critical infrastructure, as well as the question of how healthcare systems can be operated stably under exceptional stress situations.
Further information on the programme items and speakers for each conference day will be available from July, when the MEDICA ticket shop opens.
Networking all relevant stakeholders in a shared format
The conference is aimed at decision-makers from hospitals, healthcare administration and politics, as well as a specialist audience from industry, research, welfare, social services, cross-sectoral emergency preparedness and hazard prevention, and other healthcare sectors. The aim is to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue that brings together different perspectives and develops concrete solutions for a resilient healthcare system.
The 1st German Health Resilience Conference thus deliberately taps into new target groups for MEDICA and creates a platform at the interface of society, health, security and critical infrastructure. It brings together stakeholders who have rarely been connected in a joint format before and addresses one of the central challenges of our time: ensuring healthcare that remains resilient even under crisis conditions.
Conference information at a glance:
- 1st German Health Resilience Conference
- Date: 16–19 November 2026
- Venue: Düsseldorf Exhibition Center
- Part of MEDICA 2026
- Focus: Resilience of healthcare systems (Strategy and Practice)
- Organised by: Messe Düsseldorf & German Health Alliance (GHA)
Information on MEDICA 2026 and all integrated programme formats is available online: https://www.medica-tradefair.com.
