WHS Regional Meeting in Kenya: Registration and accreditation now open

The 2026 World Health Summit (WHS) Regional Meeting will take place in Kenya from April 27–29, at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON).

Under the theme “Reimagining Africa’s Health Systems: Innovation, Integration, and Interdependence”, the meeting hosted by the Aga Khan University East Africa will convene over 2,000 global delegates, including the Kenyan Government, health ministers, academia, philanthropists, civil society, and international organizations to explore solutions that strengthen Africa’s health systems and advance global health progress. Registration is now open, and first speakers have been announced. Interested media representatives can now also apply for accreditation to report on-site.

“The World Health Summit Regional Meeting will focus on themes important for the continent of Africa. We will be looking at the rising burden of chronic disease, changing patterns of infectious diseases, and the health financing landscape in Africa and beyond," explains Lukoye Atwoli, President of the WHS Regional Meeting 2026 and International President of the World Health Summit 2025/26.

Underscoring the region’s growing role in shaping the global health agenda, this will mark the second time a WHS Regional Meeting is held in East Africa and on the African continent, following the WHS Regional Meeting in Uganda 2021.

This year’s WHS Regional Meeting will emphasize the need to transform health systems by leveraging innovation, strengthening collaboration across sectors, and promoting regional and global solidarity to ensure equitable, resilient, and sustainable health for all.

Covering the most pressing health issues of the continent, the agenda will focus on:

• Pandemic preparedness and health security

• Climate change, environment, and health resilience

• Digital health, artificial intelligence, and technological innovation

• Health workforce, financing, and systems strengthening

• Gender equity, youth leadership, and social accountability

• Mental health, psychosocial support, and well-being

• Primary health care, Universal Health Coverage, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and social determinants of health

• Women’s, adolescents’, and children’s health and nutrition

“Every year, the WHS Regional Meeting takes place in a different region around the world to bring regional priorities to the forefront,” says Axel R. Pries, President of the World Health Summit. “The annual WHS Regional Meetings connect sectors and regions to catalyze joint solutions for the world’s key health priorities. Each meeting is hosted by a member institution of the WHS Academic Alliance – the World Health Summit’s global academic network of about 30 leading institutions covering a diversity of health-related aspects from medicine to public and global health.”

The Hosting Institution: Aga Khan University East Africa

The WHS Regional Meeting 2026 will be hosted by the Aga Khan University East Africa. Founded in 1983 as Pakistan’s first private university, the University expanded to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Afghanistan, and the United Kingdom since 2000. The mission of the Aga Khan University is to improve the quality of life in the developing world and beyond through world-class teaching, research, and health-care delivery.

About the World Health Summit

The World Health Summit is the leading platform for global health. Founded in 2009, it brings together stakeholders from politics, science, the private sector, and civil society to set the agenda for a healthier future. The annual Summit is held every October in Berlin, organized by the WHS Foundation GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The Summits are complemented each year by a WHS Regional Meeting held in a different part of the world, where regional health priorities take center stage.