1st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PUBLICHEALTH IN AFRICA (CPHIA 2021)

Agenda

The full agenda for CPHIA 2021 will be posted soon.

For more information about virtual side events, see here.

Conference Tracks & Speakers

Track 1: Epidemiology of SARS-COV-2, Virology, Prevention and Clinical Management
While the African continent was predicted to be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, African populations appear to have thus far evaded widespread morbidity and mortality due to the virus. This track will assess how the pandemic has unfolded on the African continent, discuss possible biologic mechanisms that may have mitigated the impact of the disease, identify areas of particular need for future research in the African setting, and discuss the future of COVID-19 in Africa.

Track 2: Vaccination in Africa: Research Capacity, Advocacy, Manufacturing and Distribution
As the world looks toward preparing for future health threats, African countries need to strengthen their vaccine manufacturing capacities by bolstering regulatory agencies, developing the necessary human resource potential and attracting financial and technical investment. This track will explore the current state of COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Africa and the way forward, as well as the future of vaccine manufacturing on the continent.

Track 3: Establishment of the New Public Health Order
The proposed New Public Health Order is an urgent call for Africa to strengthen public health institutions, decentralize public health engagements for more efficient implementation, bolster capacity for local production of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, while creating significant investments in the health workforce and leadership programs, and building respectful public-private partnerships. This track will focus on two tenets of the New Public Health Order: building the capacity of the Africa CDC and National Public Health Institutes, and investing in the public health workforce.

Track 4: Assessing the Response to COVID-19 in Africa to Prepare for Future Health Threats
While African countries have responded relatively well to the pandemic, the continent has faced a variety of challenges, including in some instances weak leadership; restrictions in the global supply chain with insufficient test kits, personal protective equipment and vaccines; and misinformation. This track will examine the effectiveness of Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight key successes, challenges and lessons learned to prepare for future health threats. It will also explore ways to prevent the severe unintended economic and social consequences that often follow health crises such as COVID-19.

Track 5: COVID-19 and Equitable Health System Strengthening in Africa
African countries and continental public health institutions have had to develop innovative approaches to meet the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic – from a rapid expansion of diagnostic capacity and genomics, to pooling resources between nations and across the public-private sector. This track will explore case studies that can inform innovative approaches to building strong health systems in Africa.

Track 6: Digitisation, Modelling and Analytics to Support an Effective Public Health Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the advent of digital tools and technologies for public health messaging, epidemiologic surveillance, screening and diagnosis for rapid case identification, interruption of community transmission and clinical care delivery. This track will explore how digitisation, modelling and analytics can be fruitfully employed to sustain the public health goals of quality, accessibility, efficiency and equity in health care.

Track 7: Agenda 2063: Whole-of-society – Private sector, Community and Leadership – Approach in Combatting COVID-19 and other Emerging Diseases
Effective partnerships and collaborations across all sectors will be critical to winning the fight against COVID-19. This track will focus on what can be done to create and harmonize more effective platforms for public-private dialogue to strengthen health systems; the innovations and investments that should be prioritized to better prepare for and respond to future pandemics and outbreaks; how leveraging private sector supply chain best practices can improve health supply chains in low- and middle-income countries; the role of local leadership in effective testing and diagnostics; and community engagement best practices.

Abstracts

As this is the inaugural CPHIA, abstract submission is limited to individuals affiliated with select institutions invited by the Africa CDC. Selected abstracts will be presented within track sessions 1, 4 and 6 and published in the Journal of Public Health in Africa. Should you have any questions about the abstract process, please contact Leena Elsamani (Africa CDC) at ElsamaniL@africa-union.org.

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