Conference Report: 2nd International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA2022)

FOREWORD
In December 2022, we marked a historic moment for the African continent: the first in-person gathering of the international Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2022).
2,800 scientists, policymakers, and advocates from around the world gathered in person in Kigali to spotlight African science and innovation, and strengthen local, regional and global collaboration, with an additional 11,625 participants joining the main conference online. The energy and passion for transforming public health was reflected in dozens of sessions, over 175 poster presentations, 56 accepted oral presentations and 59 side events (56 onsite, 3 virtual) across four days – and it’s never been clearer that we are facing a major inflection point for health.

As highlighted in the conference discussions, the future of health in Africa will be a story of hope and obstacles. The continent has come a long way toward realising the African Union’s New Public Health Order since 2020 but disease outbreaks are on the rise; climate change, food insecurity, population growth and political instability bring new health risks; and too many lives are still being lost to preventable diseases.

While CPHIA 2021 was focused on lessons learned from the pandemic, CPHIA 2022 built upon those discussions to more concretely identify what we need to secure a healthier future for the continent. The second edition of the conference was an opportunity to check on progress since 2021, including in the areas of vaccine manufacturing capacity, innovative financing solutions like public-private partnerships and digital technologies for health.

CPHIA 2022 also went beyond COVID-19, offering dedicated tracks focused on addressing the unfinished agenda of HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases and other infectious diseases, as well as non-communicable diseases and accidents. It also elevated issues of equity and inclusion, dedicating whole tracks to women in health and expanding Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Africa.

One key takeaway from CPHIA 2022 is that in order to drive sustainable progress, Africa must own the tools of response. With innovation, respectful partnerships, local ownership and investment, we can take advantage of this critical opportunity to accelerate African-led research into scalable solutions for the continent.

Convenings hosted on the continent, such as CPHIA, are part of the solution. We are grateful to the African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) for their leadership in improving public health in Africa, including by spearheading this conference. We also thank the Rwanda Ministry of Health and Rwanda Biomedical Centre for serving as the CPHIA 2022 hosts, and the members of the Scientific Programme Committee and the Secretariat for their constant support and contributions in planning this conference.

We are thrilled that Zambia will serve as the host for CPHIA 2023 so we can keep building on this extraordinary movement. We hope to see you there!
We are thrilled that Zambia will serve as the host for CPHIA 2023 so we can keep building on this extraordinary movement. We hope to see you there!