Morocco Announced as Host of CPHIA 2024
1st December 2023, Lusaka, Zambia – The 3rd International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2023) – the annual conference of the African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) closed in Lusaka, Zambia, on 30 November, after four days of official conference sessions and side events featuring high-level health and policy experts, emerging researchers and advocates from around the world.
CPHIA 2023’s closing ceremony included remarks from Acting President of Zambia, Mrs Mutale Nalumango; Director General of the Africa CDC, H.E. Jean Kaseya and Minister of Health of Zambia, Hon. Sylvia Masebo. speakers reflected on the conference theme, “Breaking Barriers: Repositioning Africa in the Global Health Architecture,” and called on participants to ensure discussions at CPHIA 2023 translate into actions that would strengthen health systems across the continent.
“At CPHIA 2023, I observed an extraordinary movement of African scientists, policymakers, civil society, NGOs, healthcare workers and a hundred other categories of health professionals coming together in a way that we never have before, at a gathering organized by ourselves, at home here in Africa,” said H.E. Dr. Kaseya in his closing remarks. “Together, we are truly breaking barriers in global health.”
More than 5,100 participants from 90 countries joined the conference in person, and more than 30,000 watched the livestream. The conference featured nine plenary sessions, 18 parallel sessions, 18 abstract-driven sessions, three special sessions and 97 side events. There were also 197 poster presentations and 50 exhibition booths on site. The in-person event commenced three days after packed virtual programming sessions which took place a week before, with an additional 18 abstract-driven sessions and 33 side events online.
“From the diverse sessions under different tracks to the myriad side events, oral and poster sessions, and the hallway conversations, each has imparted new insights,” said Prof. Margaret Gyapong, CPHIA 2023Co-Chair and Director of the Institute of Health Research, University of Health and Applied Sciences. “By sharing this platform, with like-minded disruptors, all driven by a common goal of ‘Breaking Barriers,’ I have no doubt we will be able to drive extraordinary progress.”
Three annual awards were announced during the opening and closing ceremonies at CPHIA 2023:
- Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, received the Lifetime Achievement in Public Health Award. This award is given to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to public health and health research on the African continent. Dr. Tedros was recognised for his commitment to ensuring access to healthcare, promoting equity, and tackling emerging health threats, including his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Dr. Namubiru Saudah Kizito of Uganda received the award for this year’s Best Oral Abstract Presentation. Dr. Saudah, an Advanced Field Epidemiology Fellow at the Uganda National Institute of Public Health (UNIPH), delivered a presentation titled “Increasing trends of antibiotic resistance in Uganda, 2018–2021.”
- Dr. Joseph Fokam of Cameroon received the award for this year’s Best Abstract Poster Presentation. Dr Fokam is a Virologist at Chantal BIYA International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management (CIRCB/FHS-UB). His abstract is titled “Emerging integrase resistance in dolutegravir-treated individuals calls for more cautious use of dolutegravir-containing regimens in resource-limited settings.”
“Various platforms and round table discussions highlighted the complexities, and challenges that Africa faces in public health,” said Acting President Mrs Nalumango in her closing remarks. “Though our public health challenges are many and diverse, we remain hopeful that there is an opportunity for innovation, collaboration, and change.”
H.E. Dr. Kaseya also announced that the fourth edition of the CPHIA 2024 conference will take place next year in Morocco. This will be the first time the conference is held in North Africa.
“CPHIA is a testament to the seismic shift that has happened and what is possible when we stay relentlessly focused on investing in our public health infrastructure and institutions,” Prof. Senait Fisseha, CPHIA 2023 Co-Chair and Vice President of Global Programs, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. “We are remaking the global health architecture brick by brick, so that it finally meets our needs and serves our institutions and people – and CPHIA marks just the beginning.”
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Media contacts
CPHIA 2023 Secretariat CPHIAcomms@africa-union.org
About Africa CDC
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), is the continental autonomous Health agency of the African Union that strengthens the capacity and capability of Africa’s public health institutions as well as partnerships to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats and outbreaks, based on data-driven interventions and programmes. Learn more at: http://www.africacdc.org — END —
