25–27 February 2026 | Misty Hills Country Hotel & Conference Centre, Muldersdrift, Gauteng (South Africa)

CPEMPH (University of Johannesburg and Durham University), together with partners including the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures (University of the Free State), the Africa Centre for Inclusive Health Management (Stellenbosch University), and UNICEF, is hosting a regional conference focused on emerging challenges and opportunities in evidence-informed public health, with particular attention to HIV management in sub-Saharan Africa. This conference is part of CPEMPH’s British Academy funded project Integrating Evidence for Contextualised Public Health Policy: Lessons From South Africa.

Focus

The conference convenes policymakers, practitioners, civil society, and researchers to discuss:

• Integrating new evidence into context-sensitive public health policy, including mathematical modelling, social listening reports, and other novel evidence streams
• Sustaining and adapting HIV programmes amid changing global funding and coordination conditions

The programme includes keynotes, thematic sessions, a UNICEF-led session, and structured roundtables culminating in the adoption of a Misty Hills Statement on context-sensitive policy.

Programme

Download the full programme here

Highlights include:

• Keynote 1: Dr Thembisile Xulu (CEO, South African National AIDS Council)
• Keynote 2: Prof Elisabetta Lalumera (University of Bologna)
• UNICEF session: UNICEF’s HIV work and plans
• Roundtable: Integrating context-sensitive evidence into HIV policy (post USAID)

Queries

For conference queries, please contact Benjamin Smart (bsmart AT uj.ac.za) or Alex Broadbent (alex.broadbent AT durham.ac.uk)

Hosted by: University of Johannesburg – CPEMPH; University of Durham – CPEMPH & CHESS; University of Stellenbosch – Africa Centre for Inclusive Health Management; University of the Free State – Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures; UNICEF.