The World Congress on Public Health (WCPH) is held biennially by the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA). The 18th WCPH 2026, organized in collaboration with the Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA), will be held in Cape Town. Over 2,000 delegates are expected to attend, exchanging insights on critical global public health challenges and advancing sustainable and equitable public health worldwide. For the first time, the WCPH will take place in Southern Africa, offering a powerful platform for African voices to engage and contribute to global public health conversations and collaborations. The theme of this congress is, “Health without Borders: Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability,” highlighting the global public health community’s unwavering commitment to envisioning and implementing fair and practical solutions to the world’s complex challenges.
Jobs and Announcements
The theme for HSR2026 is "Future-Focused Health Systems in a Changing World" will focus discussion around four sub-themes: Politics and Polycrises; Plurality and Partnerships; Platforms and Participation; Pathways and Planet. Detailed information about the sub themes can be found on the website. Across all four sub-themes, there are three session types in which one can submit an abstract.
The Young Scientist Summer Program (YSSP) at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), is currently accepting applications to its 2026 program. The program, which takes place from June to August, is designed for PhD students (ideally about 2 years prior to receiving their PhD) working on a topic compatible with ongoing research at IIASA and a wish to explore the policy implications of their work. Participants will be working under the direct mentorship of an experienced IIASA scientist in a unique interdisciplinary and international research environment. They will produce a paper (serving as first step towards a publishable journal article) and will get the opportunity to build up contacts for future collaboration within the institute's worldwide network. Applications are particularly welcome from candidates interested in human-centred and population-based approaches to understanding drivers of population change, sustainable development, and wellbeing.
The 2nd biennial Uganda National Conference on Health, Human Rights and Development (UCHD 2025) will build on the momentum and successes of the UCHD 2023 conference, which emphasized health as a human right and a cornerstone for realizing Sustainable Development Goals. The 2023 conference, through its outcome document, the Kampala Declaration on Health, Human Rights, and Development recognized the right to health as fundamental to achieving Uganda’s Vision 2040.
Despite the protections of international humanitarian law, the systematic targeting of healthcare facilities in modern warfare remains a tragic and increasingly recurring reality. From Gaza to Syria, Ukraine to Sudan and Myanmar, the destruction of healthcare facilities raises urgent questions about the limits of the law, the elasticity of the Geneva Conventions, and the moral failure of the international community to enforce basic protections. Legal frameworks provide for the safeguarding of healthcare facilities during conflict, yet wide gaps exist in the way such laws can be interpreted, allowing belligerents to justify, obscure, or deny such attacks. Bringing together researchers, humanitarian professionals, and global health experts, this event will interrogate the normative failures and political complicities that allow such attacks to proliferate. Registration opens August 25, 2025 at www.ghplatform.org.
The University of Botswana is offering a 1-2 year postdoctoral fellowship in the upcoming academic year. The Postdoctoral Research Fellow will be joining ongoing and planned studies using implementation research to improve primary care in Botswana, focusing on non-communicable diseases, aging, and other relevant health challenges. The Postdoctoral Research Fellow should bring strong qualitative analytical skills (and ability to work with a team of biostatisticians and other experts in behavioural science, clinical medicine and primary care) with experience in health-related research and ideally implementation and primary care research. Other preferred skills include knowledge of health systems strengthening and research, mixed methods, and experience in the field of primary care and chronic diseases research. The Fellow will include working in a strong and supportive multidisciplinary, multi-country team, in person and support from virtual mentoring by research leaders. This is a one-year full-time research post-doctoral fellowship opportunity at University of Botswana. There is a potential for a second year, contingent upon performance and funding. Applications are now being accepted and will be reviewed until the position is filled.
The East African Health and Scientific Conference (EAHSC) is an EAC biennial event convened in East Africa by the EAHRC in collaboration with a host EAC Partner State. Hosting of the event is rotational to each of the Partner States and coordinated through the ministries responsible for EAC affairs, ministries responsible for health and others and it is done in close collaboration with regional and international health-related NGO's, civil society, individuals and stakeholders. The EAHSC contributes towards strengthening regional cooperation in health.
The Africa HealthTech Summit brings together Ministers of Health and ICT, National Public Health Institutes, Regulators, leading Tech Innovators, Healthcare Professionals, Development Partners, Investors and Academia, to explore how emerging technologies can be harnessed to build resilience and improve health systems and individual wellbeing across African communities. The Summit focuses on critical questions such as realizing the potential of technology innovations to tackle Africa’s most pressing health challenges. Further information will be available closer to the date
The South African Health Review (SAHR) invites submissions for its 2025 edition 'Learning health systems: bridging knowledge and practice'. This edition seeks to explore successful health systems reform experiences within the country and draw from good practices and exemplary implementation across the provinces. The 2025 edition aims to identify practical ways to enhance specific aspects of the health system in the short term, while aligning with the broader reforms needed to achieve universal health coverage. The South African Health Review is a peer-reviewed publication accredited with the Department of Higher Education and Training, and published by Health Systems Trust. The aims of the SAHR are to advance the sharing of the knowledge, feature critical commentary on policy implementation, and offer empirical studies for improving South Africa's health system.
EQUINET extends our collective condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Charles Ngwena, a tireless and persistent defender of human rights, particularly from an Afrocentric perspective of law. Professor Ngwena, a native of Zimbabwe but a global scholar, did ground-breaking work in the application of Socio-economic rights in a African context, and particularly focused on disability rights and sexual and reproductive health rights, helping EQUINET develop its early thinking about the relationship between Health Equity and Human Rights. He died in South Africa on 1st Feb and will be sorely missed by our community.