Africa health conference to bring the world’s attention to Africa’s health needs

Health service delivery in Africa and its associated challenges are well documented, with some estimating that less than 50% of Africans have access to modern health facilities. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has exacerbated the situation in many countries on the continent, resulting in a situation where millions of people urgently need access to appropriate health care.

Africa’s population is growing rapidly. Over the past 20 years, Africa’s population has grown by 2.5% per year and is expected to reach 2.4 billion by 2050. The continent also bears 25% of the global burden of disease, but does not is served by only 2% of the world’s healthcare workforce.

As the population grows, there will be a growing need for accessible and quality health services if countries on the continent are to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030, as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goal ( United Nations SDG) 3. .

Experts also stress the need for urgent reform of health service delivery, to eliminate levels of inequity and inefficiency.

This need, said exhibition director Azzan Mohamed, will be one of the key themes of this year’s Africa Health Conference, which is due to take place in October this year. Africa and its needs will be at the center of the event, as it creates a unique opportunity for healthcare experts and companies from all over the world to come together and discuss the continent’s medical and healthcare developments.

“We have convened ‘in-person’ versions of this event for the past nine years, but the pandemic and its associated limitations mean we’ve had to switch to a new format that reaches more people. The flexibility of hosting an event on a virtual platform means that we will once again be able to offer a rich series of exhibits and discussions as we have done in previous years.

“The format of this year’s event – a virtual format – means attendees can enjoy it all and earn their CPD points from the safety and comfort of their home or office. They will also be able to do all of this at no cost to them, which will hopefully remove any barriers to attending such an important medical event, ”Mohamed said.

“This has given us the opportunity to develop a cutting edge custom virtual platform for this year’s event, meaning delegates and industry stakeholders can participate wherever they are in Africa. .

The congress will address African and global healthcare professionals and share strategies shaping the future of medicine, while assessing the latest disruptors driving healthcare transformation.

The Africa Health 2021 online sessions will take place from October 25 to 29, 2021.

Each day of the event will also see the profiling of delegates from selected countries or the selection of medical products for demonstration.

“Although we have gone virtual, our mission remains the same – to bring together the best of the continent on a sophisticated platform offering the widest range of relevant content for healthcare professionals across Africa,” said Cynthia Makarutse, Senior Conference Producer.

The five-day conference will feature a mix of online lectures and discussions on conference topics, supported by virtual meeting rooms where medical device and product developers can interact with business and networking contacts.

“We believe in an ever-changing human health world, making deeper connections with the African healthcare community is more important than ever. For this reason, we are redefining the art and science of forging meaningful business relationships by delivering a series of carefully curated online events. This platform offers unique educational and networking opportunities for healthcare professionals who value innovation, learning and business.

“Our virtual conference event will have a lot to discuss and deliberate. Naturally, the topic of the coronavirus pandemic will feature high on our agenda, but the discussions will go far beyond simple ways to deal with COVID19, ”Makarutse said.

Topics planned for discussion include:

Quality management and patient safety

Medical obstetrics

Laboratory medicine

Healthcare business and leadership

Digital health

Ethics, human rights and medical law

· Public health

“Today more than ever, professionals must come together to address health issues specific to Africa,” concludes Makarutse.

The event is expected to attract over 5,000 healthcare professionals from around the world and over 200 international and regional companies who value business and networking.