By Kei Emmanuel Duku
South Sudan will host the 10th East African Regional Health and Scientific Conference in Juba from June 25th to 27th, with the government allocating $385,000 for the event.
Ben Gideon Mabor, the Undersecretary for the East African Community Affairs, confirmed the securing of funds for the upcoming regional gathering.
The conference, set to take place at the Pyramid Continental Hotel, will address “Health Priorities and Advancing the East African Region Health Agenda to Meet Global Health Targets.”
It aims to bring together health professionals, policymakers, scientists, and development partners from across the region to discuss challenges within the health sector.
Discussions will focus on critical regional issues including public health, climate change, food security, and sustainable development.
“Together, stakeholders can brainstorm and underscore existing health conditions of the community, and come up with evidence-based, actionable policy recommendations to improve the health system in the region,” Gideon stated.
However, the Undersecretary did not specify whether the entire $385,000 cost will be financed solely by the South Sudanese government or if East African Community member states will contribute.
Meanwhile, South Sudan’s National Minister of Health, Sarah Cleto Rial, confirmed that all eight EAC partner states, including their respective Ministers of Health, Ministers of East African Community, and other senior dignitaries, will attend the three-day conference in Juba.
Minister Cleto underscored the conference’s important role in contributing scientific research to combat diseases and tackle public health concerns.
These include food security, safe water, airborne and zoonotic diseases, environmental hazards, cross-border transmissions, traffic accidents, and the regulation of food and drug consumption within the region.
“This conference brings together the best researchers in health and all health-related scientists from all member states to discuss health research work and new research ideas under one roof,” Cleto said, adding that “we see this as a platform of knowledge exchange and sharing between countries.”
She further stated that the regional conference is critical for strengthening regional cooperation in the health sector, in accordance with Article 118 of the treaty that established the East African Community under the common Market Protocol.
The National Health Minister also revealed that a total of 218 abstracts will be presented during the conference, with 78 originating from South Sudanese scientists and researchers. Authors of the best abstracts will be invited to give presentations of their research.
“This encourages us to do more and opens a great window for our researchers to share their scientific health concerns and findings with other experts from the region,” she concluded.
“As a ministry, we encourage our young students from the universities who aspire to be the future health professionals in the region to come and network with their role models and career inspiration.”
The East Africa Regional Health Scientific Conference was first approved in 2006 by the 12th Ordinary Session of the EAC Council of Ministers. It is an event hosted every two years on a rotational basis among the partner states.
The decision for South Sudan to host the 10th conference was adopted in Rwanda during the closing ceremony of the ninth conference two years ago.
South Sudan National Minister of Health acknowledged that the event took longer than expected due to unstable political situation the country is facing.