By Kemo Cham
The Africa Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has announced a date for its annual continental public health meeting this year, after one-year hiatus due to the global Mpox epidemic.
The Conference of Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) 2025 will be hosted by South Africa, in the city of Durban in Kwazulu Natal Province, from October 23rd to 25th. The development was announced at the agency’s weekly press briefing on Thursday, September 4th, 2025.
“CPHIA will unite voices from across the continent and the globe to re-imagine the future of health in Africa,” said Prof. Yap Boom II, Deputy Head of Africa CDC’s Incident Management Support Team (IMST). He disclosed that the agency is expecting between 5,000 and 10,000 delegates at the event that is set to take place on the backdrop of the G20 meeting in South Africa. Prof. Yap added that CPHIA2025, which will mark the 4th edition of the annual event, will offer opportunity for Africa’s voice to be heard by the world leaders.
Africa CDC is the specialized public health agency of the African Union which is charged with supporting the public health initiatives of member states and strengthen the capacity of their health institutions to deal with disease threats. CPHIA is one of its ways of achieving this by providing an Africa-led platform for leaders, policy makers and researchers across the continent and beyond to reflect on lessons learnt in health and science and chart the way forward for more resilient health systems for member countries.
The first edition of the conference was held virtually in 2021, and in 2022 the first in-person event was hosted in Kigali, Rwanda. The third edition was hosted in Lusaka, Zambia, in 2023. The 4th edition, initially scheduled for Rabat in Morocco in November 2024, was called off in the face of the raging Mpox virus. Africa CDC said at the time that it had to focus its attention on dealing with the worsening viral epidemic.
The Mpox outbreak which started in 2022, became widespread in late 2023, prompting global concern. Africa CDC declared it a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security in August 2024, followed by a declaration by the World of Organization of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
While latest data show progress in the continental response efforts, as seen in reduction in cases, Africa CDC has resolved to maintain the emergency status, in line with advise by its expert committee.
CPHIA 2025 will be convened under the theme: “Moving toward self-reliance to achieve universal health coverage and health security in Africa.” Crucial issues to be discussed include local manufacturing of pharmaceutical products like lifesaving vaccines and therapeutics, as well as outbreak management.
