The Second World Health Organization (WHO) African Health Forum (AHF), to be held in Cabo Verde Islands from March 26^thto 28^th, 2019, will have as central theme Achieving Universal Health Coverage and Health Security in Africa: The Africa we want to see. The preparations have just started with the first meeting of an ad hoc interinstitutional organizing committee, comprising representatives from the Presidency of the Republic, Prime Minister Cabinet, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Cabinet, National Assembly, Ministry of Health and the (WHO).

This meeting was scheduled during the WHO African Regional Office staff to support the AHF mission to Cabo Verde. Their program included meetings with the key local stakeholders and visits to identify potential venues to host the Forum.

During this meeting, the WHO Representative in Cabo Verde, Mariano Salazar, highlighted the importance of the AHF that will gather an estimated seven to eight hundred participants from the African region and around the world, including key leaders such as Head of States, Ministers of Health and senior government officials, academia and scientific community, United Nations agencies and Intergovernmental organizations, civil society, private sector, philanthropic foundations, and youth organizations representatives.

“This Forum will provide Cabo Verde the opportunity to share internationally our success stories and best practices to achieve Universal Health Coverage, as well as showcase key initiatives to promote health and well-being that may inspire other countries”, added Dr. Salazar.  

The Coordinator of the External Relations, Partnerships and Governing Bodies (EPG) Unit at WHO Afro Office, Pamela Suzanne Drameh-Avognon, noted that “this Forum will be the ideal opportunity and platform for catalyzing strategic partnerships and inter-sectoral engagement, contributing effectively to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. 

She explained that the 2^ndAHF will provide a platform to discuss innovative strategies on persistent challenges in public health, promote reinforced country ownership and governance for health, and explore concrete ways for partners to contribute in reforming the work of WHO in the African Region and fulfil the aims of the “Africa Health Transformation Programme 2015-2020”. 

This Forum is expected to culminate in a Call for Action and thereafter, a roadmap to deliver on Commitments for Action made by the Forum will be developed. The Forum will also showcase progress and best practices on key challenges and opportunities for Africa in delivering UHC, as well as establish a biennium platform to engage key stakeholders on common strategies to achieve the SDGs.

It will include sessions on Towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Africa: Determining country focus, Engendering Action for Effective Engagement of the Private Sector for UHC in Africa, Multi-sectoral collaboration to improve Health outcomes, Strategic Partnerships for Preparedness and Health Security in Africa, and Harnessing innovative solutions to improve Health outcomes in Africa.

This Forum follows the first edition AHF celebrated in Rwanda in 2017, under the theme Putting People First: The Road to Universal Health Coverage in Africa, which also culminated in a call to action that would be monitored in the next Forum.

Cabo Verde was identified as a host of the second Forum due to its good indicators and achievements in health, as well as potential to champion UHC. Despite having one of the sixth smallest GDP of the WHO African region, its health status is proportional to that of a high-income country.

The country attained a sustained high immunization coverage above 90% since the last decade, with no significant Vaccine Preventable Disease outbreaks recorded in the country in the last 15 years.It was declared a Polio free country in 2016 and its on the way to be certified as first country in Africa that has interrupted the vertical mother-to-child HIV transmission and Congenic Syphilis, as well as on track for Malaria, Measles and Rubella elimination by 2020.

Likewise, Cabo Verde outstands by its multi-sectorial approach to promote health, where health in all policies involves eight of thirteen ministries, as well as municipalities, universities and civil society organizations. It is one of the few countries that have already set up successfully a network of Healthy Cities, and it is in an advanced stage in the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Furthermore, the President of the Republic is leading a nationwide campaign against the harmful use of alcohol “More Life, Less Alcohol” that is unique in the continent and it was recognized with the UN Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (UNIATF) award.

Cabo Verde is currently holding the presidency of the Portuguese Speaking Countries Community (CPLP), and it is an active country on the ECOWAS and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) regions. This is expected to be an added value to leverage the outreach of the Forum globally.