18th WORLD CONGRESS ON PUBLIC HEALTH
Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability
Welcome Messages
Welcome Message from WFPHA President
As President of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, it is my honor to welcome you to Cape Town for the 18th World Congress on Public Health (WCPH 2026).
This city has always stood as a symbol of resilience and renewal – a fitting home for a Congress dedicated to Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability. Over the coming days, we will gather as one global family of public health champions: researchers, clinicians, students, policymakers, and community advocates, united not by geography or discipline, but by a shared conviction that health is a right, not a privilege.
Our program reflects the full breadth of that conviction. We will confront the hardest questions of our era – health equity amid conflict and displacement, the future of primary care, the promise of One Health in preventing the next pandemic, and the urgent work of decolonizing global health. We will also celebrate the connections too often overlooked: between oral health and chronic disease, between faith communities and access to vaccination, between local innovation and global policy. Every plenary, every poster, every corridor conversation is a chance to widen our circle of collaboration.
I am especially moved that this Congress convenes on African soil, in a nation whose own public health journey embodies both the scale of our challenges and the power of collective will to overcome them. May that spirit infuse everything we do this week.
To every delegate – whether you have traveled thousands of miles or joined us from just down the road – thank you for bringing your expertise, your passion, and your hope for a healthier world. Let us learn boldly, connect generously, and leave Cape Town with new partnerships and renewed purpose.
Welcome to WCPH 2026. Together, let us shape a future where health truly knows no borders.
Professor Raman Bedi
President, World Federation of Public Health Associations
Welcome Message from PHASA President
On behalf of the Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA) and the African Federation of Public Health Associations (AFPHA), it is my great honor and privilege to welcome you to Cape Town and to Africa for the 18th World Congress of Public Health.
We welcome you warmly – our brothers and sisters from across Africa, and colleagues, partners, and friends from every part of the world. Africa welcomes you not simply as visitors, but as members of our shared global community.
There is a profound African philosophy that captures the spirit in which we gather: Ubuntu – “I am because we are.” The philosopher John Mbiti expressed this idea as: “I am because we are; and since we are, therefore I am.”
This philosophy speaks deeply to public health. Health is never an individual endeavor. Our well-being is bound together – across families, communities, nations, and generations. No country can achieve health security alone, and no community should be left behind.
It is therefore especially meaningful that this Congress takes place in Africa. Africa is a continent of extraordinary diversity, resilience, knowledge, and possibility. We bring our own experiences, challenges, and solutions, but we also come with an open hand – ready to learn, to share, and to build together.
Cape Town, with its meeting of cultures, histories, oceans, and continents, provides a fitting home for this global gathering. From here, we hope to strengthen the bonds that connect public health professionals across borders and to advance a vision of health that is equitable, sustainable, and grounded in human dignity.
To our African colleagues: welcome home. To our international colleagues: welcome to Africa. And to everyone joining us: welcome to a Congress that belongs to all of us.
May these days of dialogue, science, partnership, and friendship remind us that our greatest strength lies not in what we can achieve alone, but in what we can achieve together.
Welcome to Cape Town. Welcome to South Africa. Welcome to Africa. Welcome to the 18th World Congress of Public Health.
Dr Lwando Maki
President, Public Health Association of South Africa
Welcome Message from WFPHA WCPH Co-Chairs
As co-chair of the 18th World Congress on Public Health, I am delighted to welcome you to South Africa for what promises to be an exceptional global gathering.
Under the theme “Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability,” WCPH 2026 brings together an outstanding community of public health leaders, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and advocates. Across eight major plenaries, World Leadership Dialogues, symposia, workshops, oral presentations, and poster sessions, distinguished speakers will engage with some of the defining challenges of our time – from health inequities, democracy, and global governance to primary health care, conflict and peace, decolonizing global health, One Health, and the future of public health.
Beyond a rich scientific program, the Congress is an opportunity to exchange ideas, build new partnerships, and strengthen a truly global public health community.
We hope you enjoy the warmth, diversity, and extraordinary spirit of Cape Town.
Welcome to WCPH 2026. We look forward to learning, connecting, and shaping the future of public health together.
Professor Luis Eugenio Souza
Co-Chair, 18th World Congress on Public Health
Welcome Message from PHASA WCPH Co-Chairs
It is a great privilege to welcome you to South Africa and to the City of Cape Town for the 18th World Congress on Public Health. Bringing this Congress to South Africa and the African continent carries particular significance. Africa has long been at the center of many of the world’s most pressing public health challenges, and it is also a continent of knowledge, leadership, resilience, and innovation. The WCPH 2026 provides an important opportunity to amplify these contributions, deepen partnerships, and ensure that diverse experiences and perspectives help shape the future of public health globally.
Our host city reflects both the beauty and the complexity of our world. Cape Town is renowned for its extraordinary natural beauty, cultural diversity, and cosmopolitan character. Yet it also bears the visible legacy of historical injustice and continuing inequality. It is therefore a fitting place in which to engage with our Congress theme: “Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability.”
At a time of deepening inequality, conflict, displacement, climate change, and pressure on health systems, coming together across countries, disciplines, and communities is more important than ever. During the Congress, I hope that we will listen openly, question our assumptions, and learn from experiences that are too often excluded from global conversations. Most importantly, I hope that the connections formed here will lead to meaningful collaboration and action long after the last session of the Congress.
I wish you a wonderful 18th WCPH and hope that our time together in Cape Town leaves us renewed in our shared commitment to a healthier, more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable world.
Dr Harsha Somaroo
Co-Chair, 18th World Congress on Public Health
