Nairobi is the centre of Africa’s health conversation this week, as the World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2026 runs from 27 to 29 April at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON).
Hosted by Aga Khan University, the summit has brought together leaders, innovators, researchers, and changemakers from across the continent and beyond to chart pathways for strengthening Africa’s health systems and advancing global health progress.
Across more than 70 sessions, the programme is exploring some of the most pressing questions facing African health: the rising burden of chronic diseases, evolving patterns of infectious disease outbreaks, the rapidly shifting health financing landscape, and how to build resilient systems capable of withstanding future shocks.
The timing is no accident. East Africa has spent the past three years navigating overlapping health emergencies — Marburg virus outbreaks in Tanzania, Ebola flare-ups in Uganda, and recurrent cholera waves across the region. Disease outbreaks across Africa rose from 153 in 2022–2023 to 242 in 2024, and external health financing has been falling at exactly the wrong moment.
Aga Khan University, with its campuses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and beyond, has positioned itself as a connector between African health priorities and global expertise. By hosting the summit, the university is signalling that the answers to Africa’s health challenges must increasingly come from Africa itself.
For NGOs, ministries of health, and community health workers across East Africa, the summit’s outcomes will shape funding flows, partnership opportunities, and policy direction for the year ahead.
