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At AVPN Global Conference 2026 - Asia’s largest gathering of social investors and impact leaders - one message stood out: the region’s biggest health challenges will not be solved by technology, medicine, policy or finance acting alone. 

Held from 25–27 August 2026 under the theme “A Blueprint for Action in Asia,” the conference brought together leaders from philanthropy, investment, policy and social impact to explore what practical, scalable action could look like. Among the most compelling discussions was a sold-out session hosted by The School of Convergence Science, led by the Health and Technology theme: “The Next Frontier in Global Health: Convergence, Prevention and Innovation.” 

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ was the only university to host a session and used it to ask a pressing question: what will it take to scale health impact across Asia and beyond? The answer that emerged was ambitious, but grounded in practical realities. Convergence science, paired with more coordinated capital around shared missions, can create new possibilities for earlier diagnosis, affordable prevention and more equitable innovation. But none of that will matter unless systems are built to help good ideas travel from the lab to the community. The discussions that followed, across a moderated panel and three structured roundtables, consistently reinforced this framing. 

what does it take to scale health impact in Asia and globally?  

The first part of the session involved a panel chaired by (³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ), which included (Founder and President of the ), (Deputy Representative, ), (Head of Health and well-being at ) and (Rector at the ). Their discussion made one point unmistakably clear: incremental progress within siloed sectors is no longer enough. Health challenges across Asia and globally are too interconnected, urgent and unequal to be solved through fragmented projects or short-term pilots. Scaling health impact requires a shift in how innovation is designed, funded and delivered. 

Health must be treated as a community and household priority, not only a system priority. Communities, and especially women, consistently place health and education among their top priorities, yet funding and policy often fail to reflect this. The result is a structural mismatch: those with the greatest need are often the least well served. Participants stressed that the most effective solutions often begin not with advanced technology, but with trust, local ownership and community-led delivery. Examples such as barefoot health workers and “Health Sakhis” showed how women can act not only as beneficiaries, but as designers, providers and managers of care. 

The panel also highlighted the persistent translation gap between promising pilots and population-scale impact. Many innovations work well in controlled settings but stall before reaching the people who need them most. This is rarely a technical failure; it is more often a structural one. Early-stage research may attract support, and large-scale programmes may eventually secure investment, but the “missing middle” — where solutions must be tested, adapted and embedded into real systems — remains chronically underfunded. Universities, governments and delivery partners all have a role in closing this gap, but none can do it alone. 

Catalytic and philanthropic capital has a distinctive role to play. Its greatest value is not in replacing public or commercial investment, but in de-risking innovation, generating evidence and proving value early, so that larger and more sustained financing can follow. In health, the return on investment extends far beyond financial gain: it includes stronger human capital, greater resilience and benefits that carry across generations. 

The panel argued that the future lies not simply in collaboration, but in convergence. This means aligning sectors, institutions and disciplines around shared health missions and measurable goals. The example of zero-dose children illustrated this clearly: children excluded from immunisation are often also excluded from education, sanitation and other essential services. Reaching them requires multi-sector coordination, long-term commitment and systems thinking rather than isolated interventions. 

Across the roundtables, several cross-cutting lessons emerged. Community ownership matters. Translation must be designed in from the start. Digital tools only work when integrated into stronger delivery systems and frontline workforces. Blended, sequenced finance is essential across the full innovation lifecycle. Equity must be intentional, with the hardest-to-reach populations kept at the centre. Local manufacturing, workforce enablement and institutional reform are not optional extras - they are central to resilience and scale. 

To summarise, scaling health impact in Asia and globally requires moving from pilots to systems, from fragmented funding to lifecycle financing, and from collaboration to true convergence around community-centred, equitable and scalable health innovation. 

A blueprint only matters if it is used 

The School of Convergence Science AVPN session made it clear that better health outcomes will not come from isolated breakthroughs alone. They will come from systems deliberately built to carry good ideas further-across institutions, across sectors and into people’s everyday lives. 

The session suggested that ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s School of Convergence Science can add the greatest value by focusing on a small number of areas where it has clear strategic strengths. By prioritising local capability building, sustainable business models, cost-reducing technology platforms, policy and IP reform, and equity-centred financing, the school can make a distinctive contribution to building more resilient, equitable health innovation systems.   

If Asia wants to help lead the next frontier in global health, it will need more than innovation. It will need convergence, commitment and the courage to build for the long term. 

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and India's IIT Bombay launch strategic partnership in research, innovation and education.  

³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and the have launched a strategic partnership across research, innovation and education. The agreement begins a new phase of closer collaboration between the two institutions and will initially prioritise research in clean technology and medical technology.  

IIT Bombay is one of ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s top collaborating institutions in India and this new partnership builds on years of successful joint research projects between Indian and British academics. The ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ-IIT Bombay agreement was celebrated at an event in Mumbai attended by IIT Bombay’s Director, , and ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s Director of the School of Convergence Science, . 

Read more here: ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and India's IIT Bombay launch strategic partnership in research, innovation and education | ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ News | ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ 

New Delhi Alumni Event  

On 26 August, (Director of the School of Convergence Science) and (Co-Director, School of Convergence Science, Health and Technology) presented their research to Alumni showcasing how we move, repair, rebuild and defend ourselves against disease. 

Together they explored what happens when biology, engineering, technology and medicine converges and why this is the key to solving some of the greatest challenges in human health. A drinks reception followed this thought-provoking evening and gave Alumni a chance to network with the Professors, the School of Convergence Science team, and the India Global Hub team.