KEYNOTE SPEAKER

We are pleased to announce Prof. Aliko Ahmed as the keynote speaker at the opening session of the SOEHPON Annual International Conference and Exhibition 2026.

Prof. Ahmed is the Special Regional Representative of the Director-General for the West Africa Regional Collaborating Centre (RCC) at Africa CDC, with over three decades of experience spanning public health leadership, epidemiology, global health diplomacy, and health systems strengthening across Africa and the United Kingdom.

His work continues to shape regional conversations around health security, public health systems, and sustainable healthcare development.

Prof Aliko will deliver a keynote on one of the most consequential health transformations underway on the African continent—the African Union Leadership mandate on the Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) Agenda.

The presentation will examine the key pillars of the AHSS Agenda, including Africa's leadership in global health governance; preparedness for and response to health emergencies; local manufacturing of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and other health technologies; sustainable domestic financing; and the development of trusted digital health and artificial intelligence ecosystems that are designed, governed and owned by Africans.

A central focus of the keynote will be the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the future of health and work in Africa. While AI presents unprecedented opportunities to improve disease surveillance, healthcare delivery, occupational health monitoring and workforce planning, it is also redefining the nature of work and introducing new challenges for workers' health, safety and wellbeing. The keynote will discuss how Africa can harness AI responsibly to create healthier, safer and more productive workplaces, while ensuring ethical governance, workforce protection, digital sovereignty, and equitable access to the benefits of emerging technologies.

Drawing on leadership at the highest levels of continental health policy, the keynote will offer a forward-looking perspective on how Africa can build resilient health systems that safeguard the health of its people and workforce, accelerate innovation, and position the continent as a global leader in health security, health sovereignty and AI-enabled development.