Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the capital, Addis Ababa, will host the fifth edition of the International Conference on Public Health in Africa. The event is expected to attract more than 30,000 in-person participants, including policymakers, health experts, development partners, and private sector representatives from across Africa and beyond.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention selected Addis Ababa based on its capacity to host large-scale events, its advanced infrastructure, and its strong track record in hospitality, reaffirming the city’s status as a regional hub for health coordination and public policy.
The Ethiopian capital previously hosted the inaugural edition of the conference in 2021, which brought together more than 12,000 participants and focused on addressing systemic gaps exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccine access, manufacturing capacity, and health system resilience.
Subsequent editions in 2022 and 2023 expanded their agenda to include pandemic preparedness, local production of diagnostics and therapeutics, universal health coverage, and emerging non-communicable diseases.
The conference serves as a key platform for aligning scientific evidence with public policy, strengthening continental coordination on health security and disease control, and facilitating technical exchange on financing mechanisms, regulatory harmonisation, and digital health innovation.
Hosting the fifth edition further underscores Addis Ababa’s role as a major center for diplomatic and political engagement across the continent. The city hosts more than 130 foreign embassies, as well as key continental institutions such as the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. It is also home to permanent agencies including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The city hosts more than 30 international conferences each quarter. Among the most notable was the second African Climate Summit in 2025, which brought together over 25,000 participants and featured 240 side events. Addis Ababa has also recently won the bid to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP32).
The partnership between the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and Informa Markets aims to enhance the organization and expand the scope of the conference, positioning it as a sustainable platform for shaping public health strategies in Africa and strengthening international cooperation. Further details regarding the program and official dates are expected to be announced in the coming months.