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THE 3rd NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION 2024
Happening On: October 16-18, 2024
Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala. Uganda
The Ministry of Health Uganda is set to convene the 3rd Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Conference, building on the success of the inaugural event held in 2019 and the second conference in 2022. These previous conferences laid a strong foundation for Uganda’s commitment to advancing Primary Health Care (PHC) and promoting community well-being.
Building upon these achievements, the upcoming conference will focus on exploring innovative strategies, digital transformations, sustainable practices, and effective partnerships to build robust health systems capable of preventing diseases and enhancing community well-being.
The conference will also serve as a platform for Uganda to share best practices and success stories with key stakeholders on advancing health systems with a focus on Community Health Workers (CHWs).
Additionally, the conference presents an opportunity for Uganda to celebrate 50 years of dedicated provision of immunization services globally under the tagline ‘EPI@50.’ UNEPI and its partners will share milestones, showcase best practices, and lessons learned in immunization over the last four decades.
Theme:
Building Resilient Health Systems for Disease Prevention through Strengthening Community Health Workers
Background
The Ministry of Health Uganda is set to convene the 3rd Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Conference, building on the success of the inaugural event held in 2019 and the second conference in 2022. These previous conferences laid a strong foundation for Uganda’s commitment to advancing Primary Health Care (PHC) and promoting community well-being.
Building upon these achievements, the upcoming conference will focus on exploring innovative strategies, digital transformations, sustainable practices, and effective partnerships to build robust health systems capable of preventing diseases and enhancing community well-being.
The conference will also serve as a platform for Uganda to share best practices and success stories with key stakeholders on advancing health systems with a focus on Community Health Workers (CHWs).
Additionally, the conference presents an opportunity for Uganda to celebrate 50 years of dedicated provision of immunization services globally under the tagline ‘EPI@50.’ UNEPI and its partners will share milestones, showcase best practices, and lessons learned in immunization over the last four decades.
Sub-themes/Tracks
- Revolutionizing Storytelling: How Digital Tools are Transforming the Health Communication Narrative in Public Health
Description: Focuses on the power of digital tools in reshaping health narratives and enhancing health promotion efforts through social media, mobile apps, and other digital platforms.
- Harnessing Social Media for Health Promotion
- Mobile Apps: Bridging the Gap in Health Communication
- Digital Storytelling: Success Stories from the Field
- Advancing Integration for Sustainability of Health Promotion Interventions at Community Level
Description: Strategies for integrating health promotion interventions within communities and ensuring their sustainability by embedding health programs in community structures.
- Integrative Approaches to Community Health
- Sustaining Health Interventions: Lessons Learned
- Case Studies: Successful class='pt-2' Community Integration
- Building Partnerships and Sustainable Financing for Community Health Workers Programs
Description: Importance of forging strong partnerships and securing sustainable financing to support the vital work of community health workers.
- Public-Private Partnerships: A Model for Success
- Innovative Financing Models for Community Health Worker Programs
- Advocating for Policy Support and Funding
- Promoting Early Linkages and Referral for Preventive Clinical and Surgical Care
Description: Establishing efficient linkage and referral systems to ensure seamless access to preventive clinical and surgical care, highlighting the role of Community Health Workers.
- Strengthening Referral Networks for Preventive Care
- The Role of Community Health Workers in Clinical Navigation
- Innovations in Linkage to Surgical Care
- Improving Routine Immunization Coverage in Uganda through Community-owned Demand-Generation Initiatives
Description: The discussions will cover strategies, best practices, and innovative approaches to boost immunization uptake and ensure comprehensive vaccine coverage across communities. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the challenges, exploring effective demand-generation techniques, and sharing successful class='pt-2' case studies to create sustainable immunization programs.
- Understanding Barriers to Immunization Coverage
- Effective Demand Generation Strategies for Immunization
- Innovative Approaches to Enhance Vaccine Uptake, Misinformation, and Hesitancy
- Revitalization of Health Inspection in Uganda
Description: The discussions will involve examining recent practices in Local Governments adopted in conducting health inspection services, good practices as well as challenges encountered during the intervention. It will further explain the context of the recently amended Public Health Act and propose regul class='pt-2'ations to support the implementation of this Act with reference to already existing regul class='pt-2'ations. Finally, the discussion shoul class='pt-2'd suggest mechanisms for popul class='pt-2'arizing health inspection services within the public domain.
- Share how Health Inspectors have worked or will work with Community Health Workers to build resilient health systems for disease prevention
- Mechanisms in place to enforce the amended Public Health Act and propose regul class='pt-2'ations to support the implementation of this Act with reference to the already existing regul class='pt-2'ations.
- Mechanisms for popul class='pt-2'arizing health inspection services within the public domain.
- Climate Change & Health: Role of Community Health Workers
Description: This session is envisioned to cover an understanding of climate change as a concept and how climate change is affecting given communities. This shoul class='pt-2'd bring out both direct and indirect health impacts of climate change with specific examples. The discussion shoul class='pt-2'd also examine the roles of community health workers in the nexus between climate change and health and how this role may contribute to building health system resilience.
- Understanding of the climate change concept, and its direct and indirect impact on health with community examples
- Adaptation interventions that build health system resilience
- Role of community health workers contributing to adaptation and health system resilience
- Any innovative and best practices that can be replicated
Methodology
The conference will target over 600 physical participants both locally and internationally and will be carried out in a hybrid manner, to enable other participants to participate virtually.
- EPI@50 Pre-conference Activity:
- Demonstrate the impact of the EPI program in Uganda over the last 41 years
- Reflect on lessons from the past four decades in Uganda and their implications regarding renewed efforts to reach the zero-dose, under-immunized, and missed communities
- Garner political will for a self-sustaining immunization program that relies mainly on domestic financing in the context of Primary Health Care
- Abstract Mentorship Session: Providing guidance for abstract submissions.
- Side event - A high-level advocacy meeting on CHWs sustainable funding: This meeting will bring together partners that are funding and intending to fund the CHWs strategy, to discuss the sustainability funding framework.
- Main Event: Running for three days with plenary sessions, breakaway sessions per track, poster presentations, and exhibitions.
Conference Timelines
| No. | Event | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Review of concept | May 4th |
| 2 | Hold 1st preparatory meeting - Select committees - Agree on the schedul class='pt-2'e of meetings - Identify and select a venue |
May 16th |
| 3 | Formation of abstract committee | April 11th |
| 4 | Engagement of potential sponsors | June 30th |
| 5 | Identify keynote speakers, and guest of honor | June 30th |
| 6 | Call for abstracts | May 1st |
Expected Outcomes
- Enhanced understanding of digital tools in health storytelling and promotion.
- Strategies for integrating and sustaining health interventions at the community level.
- Knowledge of building effective partnerships and securing sustainable financing for Community Health Worker programs.
- Improved systems for linkage and referral to preventive clinical and surgical care.
- Effective and feasible demand generation initiatives for immunization services exhibited (sharing information)
- Empowered Community Health Workers through knowledge transfer needed to strengthen health systems.
- This concept note outlines the vision and structure for the 3rd Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Conference, aiming to advance health outcomes and community well-being in Uganda.
How To Get Involved?
For more information, contact:
+256 781085534 +256 772603876