The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Global Public Health Institute, in collaboration with the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA), will host a high-level summit on regional health leadership and sustainable financing as part of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA 2025).
The summit, scheduled to take place immediately after the opening ceremony of ICASA 2025 on Wednesday, December 3, will bring together President John Dramani Mahama, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ministers of health and finance, development partners, parliamentarians, civil society representatives and private sector leaders. The goal is to advance dialogue and commitment towards a more equitable and self-reliant health future for Africa.
A statement issued in Accra by AHF ahead of ICASA 2025 said the event aims to catalyse African-led solutions to strengthen public health leadership, promote sustainable health financing and bolster regional manufacturing to enhance the continent’s resilience against future health crises.
This year marks the first time Ghana is hosting ICASA, which will run from December 3 to 8 at the Accra International Conference Centre.
According to the statement, African leaders and global health partners will draw on decades of experience in tackling the HIV epidemic to explore lessons that can inform sustainable, inclusive pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, as well as improved health financing models.
The summit will also advance AHF’s regional approach to health initiatives, which seeks to strengthen regional health systems as a foundation for global health security and equity through dialogue, policy recommendations, knowledge exchange and best practices.
Alongside the summit, AHF will host two engaging fireside chats at its exhibition booth during ICASA 2025. Each session will expand on the summit’s central themes of prevention, innovation and financing, featuring interactive discussions with public health experts, thought leaders and advocates.
Under the theme of advancing regional health leadership and sustainable financing, the sessions will bring together public health leaders, advocates and community partners for practical discussions on strengthening Africa’s health security through sustainable financing, regional manufacturing and community action.
On the topic Prevention First: Condoms, STI Control and Balanced Biomedical Messaging, the statement said the discussion will reaffirm the importance of a prevention-first approach in the global HIV and STI response. Amid rising STI rates worldwide, panellists will explore how to balance biomedical tools such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and treatment as prevention (TasP) with behavioural strategies including condom use and community-led awareness, while highlighting AHF’s prevention programmes and advocacy efforts across Africa.
