14th-15th July, 2025
Lake Greenfield Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria
The Africa Primary Health Care Forum (APHCF) is a landmark gathering dedicated to transforming primary health care (PHC) systems across the African continent. With the mission to "Reimagine Primary Health Care for Universal Health Coverage and Health Security in Africa," the forum aims to address critical challenges and identify innovative solutions for strengthening PHC.
Taking place from July 14th–15th, 2025, in Abuja, Nigeria, APHCF brings together diverse stakeholders, including policymakers, health professionals, researchers, community leaders, and digital health innovators. By fostering collaboration and learning, the forum seeks to create actionable strategies that ensure equitable access to quality health services and resilience in the face of public health challenges.
APHCF is a platform for reflecting on past lessons, building future-focused partnerships, and empowering the PHC workforce, all to achieve a healthier and more secure Africa.
1. Resilience-building: Emergency preparedness and response measures proven effective during the pandemic to enhance PHC systems’ ability to withstand future crises.
2. Service Continuity: Mechanisms to sustain essential PHC services such as immunization, maternal and child health, and chronic disease management during emergencies.
3. Supply Chain Strengthening: Medical supply chain experiences during the pandemic by enhancing logistics, stockpiling, and local production capacity for essential medicines, including medical oxygen and equipment.
1. Empowering Communities: People-centered PHC approaches that prioritise self-care, equity, and cultural relevance in service delivery.
2. Voice and Accountability: Community participation in PHC governance to ensure accountability and responsiveness to local needs.
3. Community-Based Workforce: Community health workers to serve as trusted links between PHC systems and local populations.
1. Empowering Communities: People-centered PHC approaches that prioritise self-care, equity, and cultural relevance in service delivery.
2. Voice and Accountability: Community participation in PHC governance to ensure accountability and responsiveness to local needs.
3. Community-Based Workforce: Community health workers to serve as trusted links between PHC systems and local populations.
1. Evaluating Impact: Impact of pandemic-related policies on PHC services, including nutrition interventions, immunisation programmes, and reproductive health services.
2. Generating Evidence: Research agenda to identify and scale best practices for revitalizing PHC systems post-COVID-19.
1. Digital Health Solutions: Digital health innovations, such as telemedicine and health information systems, to improve access and efficiency in PHC delivery.
2. Connected Diagnostics: Technologies that enable community health workers to deliver point-of-care testing and diagnostics for early detection and treatment.
1. Workforce Challenges: State of the PHC workforce against frameworks like the WHO Health Workforce Roadmap and the Africa CDC's Health Workforce Compact.
2. Strategic Benchmarking: Critical PHC workforce studies , gaps and established actionable targets for development.
1. The Brain Drain Dilemma: Health worker migration as an exacerbator of the workforce crisis and pressure on PHCs
2. Policy Solutions: Incentives to retain health workers in Africa, such as competitive salaries, career advancement, and improved working conditions. Bilateral agreements to ensure ethical recruitment and fair compensation for health worker migration.
3. Reinvestment in Training: Strengthening training programmes and institutions to replenish the workforce and ensure continuous skill development.
1. Digitisation Initiatives: Supporting health workers in service delivery, data collection, and decision-making. Telemedicine and remote monitoring systems to extend PHC services to underserved areas.
2. Digital Literacy: Training frontline workers in the use of health technology to improve their efficiency and adaptability.
1. Youth as Change Agents: Tapping into Africa’s growing youth population to bridge workforce gaps and encouraging young professionals to pursue PHC careers through scholarships, mentorship programs, and targeted recruitment.
2. Skill Alignment: Equipping tech-savvy youth with skills in digital health, data
analytics, and innovative care models to modernize PHC delivery.
1. AI and Connected Diagnostics: Incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and point-ofcare technologies to support diagnosis, treatment, and service delivery. Use connected diagnostics to enhance frontline workers' capacity for rapid, accurate disease detection.
2. Innovation in Tools: Wearable technology, portable diagnostics, and remote patient monitoring systems to improve efficiency and service quality at PHC.
1. Data-Driven Strategies: Workforce mapping to assess current capacities, predict future needs, and allocate resources effectively.
2. Motivation and Retention: Importance of well-trained, motivated workers by addressing burnout, providing continuous education, and fostering professional development.
3. Integrated Workforce Models: Multidisciplinary PHC teams that integrate community health workers, nurses, midwives, and others to deliver holistic care.
1. Multisectoral Collaboration: Stakeholders from public health, private sector, civil society, academia, and international organizations fostering solutions for PHC. Co-creation of policies and programmes that align with community needs.
2. Innovative Approaches to Engagement: Successful strategies like public-private partnerships (PPPs), community-driven health initiatives, and digital platforms for stakeholder dialogue. Enhanced accountability through participatory governance, where communities play a central role in decision-making and implementation.
3. The role of CSOs as PHC advocates: Building trust through nonstate actors the role of community partnerships sustaining PHC service delivery.
1. Strategic PHC Financing: increased investment in PHC systems, focusing on infrastructure, equipment, and training. Mobilising resources from domestic budgets, international donors, and private investors to create sustainable funding streams.
2. Preparedness and Response: Integrated PHC systems capable of responding to health crises like pandemics. PHC-embed health security measures—such as robust surveillance, rapid response mechanisms, and community-based interventions— within PHC systems.
1. Service Delivery Innovations: New models of care, such as telemedicine, mobile clinics, and innovative financing mechanisms like micro-insurance. Scale up initiatives that improve access to affordable essential medicines and diagnostics in underserved communities.
2. Harnessing Expertise: Leveraging the operational efficiency, technology, and expertise of private companies to complement public health efforts and bridge service delivery gaps. Creating incentives for private sector participation in rural and remote areas.
1. Integrated Health Systems: Frontline PHC services as the cornerstone of adaptive health systems, capable of addressing routine care needs while responding to emergencies. Integrated service delivery models that combine curative, preventive, and promotive care to build resilience at the community level.
2. Surveillance and Response: Surveillance systems to detect and respond to health threats swiftly, minimizing their impact on communities. Community health workers as the first line of defense in health emergencies.
1. Decision-Making and Planning: Data-driven decision-making processes to optimize resource allocation and improve health outcomes. Digital platforms for real-time data collection, analysis, and reporting to strengthen PHC systems.
2. Emergency Response: Digital solutions, such as early warning systems and mobile health apps, to facilitate rapid responses to health crises. Use of digital health records and interoperable systems to ensure continuity of care.
3. Digital Equity: Bridging the digital divide through equitable access to digital health tools and infrastructure, especially in remote and underserved areas.
The West African Institute of Public Health (WAIPH) is a leading regional public health organization committed to improving health outcomes across West Africa through capacity building, advocacy, research, and innovation. Established to address pressing health challenges, WAIPH works to strengthen health systems and foster a sustainable, inclusive approach to public health development.
With a focus on promoting Universal Health Coverage (UHC), health equity, and resilience, WAIPH collaborates with governments, international agencies, academia, and community organizations. Its programs emphasize evidence-based solutions, workforce development, and policy advocacy to tackle the region's most urgent health issues, including infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and health security threats.
WAIPH is also at the forefront of leveraging digital health and innovation to enhance public health systems and ensure that underserved populations have access to quality healthcare. Guided by the principles of inclusivity, sustainability, and partnership, WAIPH continues to be a driving force in advancing public health across the West African region and beyond.