The Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference (YPC) 2026 is now accepting applications from young Africans who are contributing to the continent’s public health future through research, innovation, healthcare, advocacy, entrepreneurship, policy, communication, community leadership, and other areas.

Organised by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), YPC 2026 will take place immediately before the 5th International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2026). The youth pre-conference will serve as an important platform for young Africans to connect with fellow emerging leaders, public health institutions, policymakers, researchers, innovators, and other stakeholders working to strengthen Africa’s health systems.

The 2026 edition is centred on the broader vision of building an Africa that is more capable of owning, protecting, and strengthening its health systems. It seeks to move conversations around health security and health sovereignty from ideas to practical action by giving young Africans a meaningful role in shaping the continent’s public health priorities.

About the Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026

Africa’s public health landscape is changing rapidly, creating an increasing need for a new generation of skilled and engaged health leaders.

Young people are already contributing to this transformation through research, digital health solutions, community programmes, entrepreneurship, advocacy, emergency response, health communication, policy engagement, and other initiatives. However, they also need meaningful opportunities to participate in decision-making processes and connect their ideas with institutions capable of supporting their implementation.

The Youth Pre-Conference 2026 has been designed to provide such a platform.

The event will bring together young Africans from across the continent to exchange ideas, showcase solutions, develop partnerships, engage with public health leadership, and contribute to discussions that will feed into CPHIA 2026.

Rather than functioning simply as a networking event, YPC 2026 is intended to be a working platform for youth leadership and participation in Africa’s health agenda.

Theme: Africa Ready for the Future of Health

The central vision of YPC 2026 is captured in the theme:

“Africa Ready for the Future of Health.”

The theme recognises that Africa’s public health future will increasingly depend on the generation currently entering and leading health systems, research institutions, laboratories, businesses, communities, civil society organisations, and policy spaces.

The programme therefore seeks to explore practical questions about:

• Who will lead Africa’s future health systems?
• What health solutions should Africa develop and scale?
• How can African countries strengthen health security?
• How can young people contribute to health sovereignty?
• How can African-led research and innovation be better supported?
• How can the continent develop a stronger public health workforce?
• How can Africa strengthen local manufacturing and reduce dependence on external systems?
• How can young people have a greater role in health decision-making?

Connection to CPHIA 2026

YPC 2026 is being organised immediately ahead of the 5th International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2026).

This positioning is significant because it creates a direct connection between youth-led discussions and the continent’s broader public health policy conversations.

Participants will have an opportunity to develop ideas and recommendations that can contribute to discussions and commitments at CPHIA 2026.

The Youth Pre-Conference therefore provides a pathway through which young Africans can move beyond simply participating in conversations to helping shape priorities and recommendations within the wider continental health agenda.

Building on Africa’s Growing Youth Health Movement

The 2026 Youth Pre-Conference builds on several years of efforts to strengthen youth participation in African and global health discussions.

The Youth Pre-Conference was launched in Kigali in 2022, where young participants called for greater inclusion of youth in health decision-making and stronger investment in youth skills and leadership.

The 2023 edition in Lusaka further developed discussions around youth leadership and gender-responsive health security.

These initiatives contributed to the development of institutional mechanisms for youth participation, including the Youth Advisory Team for Health (YAT4H).

At CPHIA 2025 in Durban, Africa CDC launched the Strategy for Youth Engagement and Participation in Global Health 2025–2028 (YES!Health).

The YES!Health Strategy provides a continental framework for meaningful youth participation in Africa’s health agenda.

YPC 2026 builds on this progress by connecting youth leadership, ideas, research, innovation, and partnerships directly with the priorities and commitments associated with CPHIA 2026.

What the Youth Pre-Conference 2026 Aims to Achieve

YPC 2026 has several interconnected objectives designed to strengthen the role of young Africans in public health.

1. Bringing Young Africans Closer to Decision-Making

One of the key objectives is to create opportunities for young people to engage directly with:

• Public health leaders
• Policymakers
• Government institutions
• Researchers
• Health organisations
• Development partners
• Other decision-makers

The programme aims to ensure that youth perspectives are incorporated into discussions around Africa’s health security and sovereignty.

This is particularly important because young professionals and emerging leaders will increasingly be responsible for designing, managing, researching, implementing, and communicating health programmes across the continent.

2. Showcasing African-Led Research and Innovation

YPC 2026 will provide visibility for youth-led:

• Research
• Health innovations
• Community solutions
• Advocacy initiatives
• Entrepreneurship
• Digital health interventions
• Public health programmes

The platform can help connect promising ideas with institutions, mentors, networks, partners, and other stakeholders that may support their growth.

This creates opportunities for young innovators and researchers to move their work beyond individual projects and potentially connect with broader continental networks.

3. Strengthening Africa’s Future Health Workforce

Another major objective is to strengthen relationships and pathways across different parts of Africa’s health ecosystem.

This includes:

• Public health
• Research
• Digital health
• Emergency preparedness
• Disease response
• Local manufacturing
• Health policy
• Advocacy
• Community engagement

By bringing participants from different disciplines together, the programme can encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and help young professionals understand how different areas of the health system interact.

4. Advancing the YES!Health Strategy

YPC 2026 will also contribute to implementing Africa CDC’s YES!Health Strategy.

The goal is to move beyond having a policy framework for youth engagement and develop practical opportunities, partnerships, and institutional commitments that allow young Africans to participate meaningfully in health decision-making.

Expected Outcomes of YPC 2026

The Youth Pre-Conference is expected to generate several important outcomes.

These include:

• A consolidated set of youth priorities and recommendations that can inform CPHIA 2026 discussions.
• Greater visibility for youth-led research, innovation, advocacy, and public health solutions across African Union Member States.
• Stronger networks connecting young leaders with public health institutions, researchers, policymakers, funders, and implementers.
• Improved pathways for young Africans to contribute to health workforce development.
• Greater youth involvement in disease preparedness and response.
• Increased opportunities for youth participation in innovation and local manufacturing.
• Stronger community leadership in public health.
• Concrete opportunities to advance implementation of the YES!Health Strategy.
• Continued youth engagement beyond the conference itself.

These outcomes demonstrate that the programme is intended to create longer-term value rather than simply provide a two-day event experience.

Five Tracks of the Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026

The 2026 Youth Pre-Conference is organised around five major thematic tracks.

Applicants should consider which track most closely matches their experience, expertise, interests, research, innovation, or community work.

1. Digital Health, Research and Innovation

This track focuses on the role of technology, research, and innovation in transforming Africa’s health systems.

It is particularly relevant to young Africans working on areas such as:

• Digital health
• Health technology
• Data-driven healthcare
• Public health research
• Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies
• Health information systems
• Digital solutions for underserved communities
• Research-based health interventions
• Health innovation

The track recognises that digital technologies and African-led research can play an important role in improving health outcomes and strengthening health systems.

Applicants with innovative solutions, research projects, digital health initiatives, or technology-driven approaches to health challenges may find this track particularly relevant.

2. Building Africa’s Public Health Workforce

A strong health system depends on having a capable and adequately prepared workforce.

This track focuses on the development of Africa’s current and future public health workforce.

Potential areas include:

• Public health education
• Professional development
• Skills development
• Health workforce planning
• Leadership
• Training
• Workforce retention
• Capacity building
• Youth leadership
• Interdisciplinary collaboration

Young health professionals, students, educators, researchers, and leaders working on workforce development may find this track especially relevant.

3. One Health, Emergency Preparedness and Response

Health threats do not always operate within the boundaries of a single sector.

The One Health approach recognises the connections between human health, animal health, environmental health, and wider ecosystems.

This track focuses on issues related to:

• Disease preparedness
• Emergency response
• Outbreak response
• Health security
• One Health
• Public health emergencies
• Disease surveillance
• Community preparedness
• Crisis response
• Resilience

It may be particularly relevant to young professionals and researchers involved in disease preparedness, emergency response, epidemiology, environmental health, veterinary health, public health, and related fields.

4. Local Manufacturing and Health Sovereignty

Africa’s ability to manufacture essential health products locally is an important component of health sovereignty.

This track explores how the continent can strengthen its capacity to produce health-related products and reduce vulnerabilities associated with external dependence.

Potential areas include:

• Pharmaceutical manufacturing
• Medical products
• Health technologies
• Local production
• Innovation
• Supply chains
• Entrepreneurship
• Health industry development
• Manufacturing capacity
• Health sovereignty

Young entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, industry professionals, and advocates working to strengthen Africa’s local health production capacity may find this track particularly relevant.

5. Youth Leadership on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV

The fifth track focuses on youth leadership in sexual and reproductive health and HIV.

It provides space for young people working on issues such as:

• Sexual and reproductive health
• HIV prevention
• HIV awareness
• Youth health education
• Community engagement
• Advocacy
• Access to health services
• Health communication
• Youth-centred health programmes

The track highlights the importance of youth participation in developing health policies, programmes, and solutions that respond to the realities facing young people.

Learn More HERE

Who Should Apply?

The Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026 is designed for young Africans who are actively engaged in or interested in shaping the continent’s public health future.

The opportunity may be particularly relevant to:

• Young health professionals
• Medical and health students
• Public health students
• Researchers
• Scientists
• Health innovators
• Entrepreneurs
• Digital health professionals
• Public health advocates
• Community leaders
• Health communicators
• Youth leaders
• Policy advocates
• Individuals working in health security
• Individuals involved in emergency preparedness and response
• Professionals working in local health manufacturing
• Individuals working on sexual and reproductive health
• HIV advocates and community workers
• Young people involved in health-related research and innovation

Applicants should demonstrate a genuine interest in contributing to Africa’s health agenda and should carefully review the official call and prospectus for the complete eligibility and application requirements.

Geographic Eligibility

The Youth Pre-Conference is designed for young Africans from across the continent.

The Africa CDC announcement identifies participation across the five African regions:

• Central Africa
• Eastern Africa
• Northern Africa
• Southern Africa
• Western Africa

The opportunity is therefore continental in scope and is relevant to eligible young people from African Union Member States.

Prospective applicants should nevertheless consult the official application guidelines and prospectus for the precise eligibility conditions applicable to their application.

Why This Opportunity Matters

Africa has a large and growing young population, making youth participation essential to the continent’s future development.

In public health specifically, today’s students, researchers, health professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs, advocates, communicators, and community leaders will become tomorrow’s decision-makers and institutional leaders.

However, meaningful youth engagement requires more than inviting young people to attend events.

Young people need opportunities to:

1. Engage decision-makers.
2. Present their ideas.
3. Build professional networks.
4. Access mentors.
5. Showcase research and innovation.
6. Contribute to policy discussions.
7. Develop leadership skills.
8. Establish partnerships.
9. Connect with institutions.
10. Influence the future direction of Africa’s health systems.

YPC 2026 is designed around these principles.

Benefits of Participating

Participation in the Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026 can provide several professional and leadership benefits.

Networking

Participants can connect with young professionals, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, advocates, communicators, community leaders, policymakers, and public health institutions from across Africa.

These connections can potentially lead to:

• Research collaborations
• Professional relationships
• Partnerships
• Mentorship
• Joint initiatives
• Knowledge exchange
• Future career opportunities

Exposure to Public Health Leadership

The programme provides an opportunity for young Africans to engage with people and institutions involved in shaping Africa’s public health agenda.

This can give participants greater exposure to the policy and institutional environments in which continental health priorities are developed and implemented.

Visibility for Youth-Led Solutions

Young researchers, innovators, advocates, and community leaders can benefit from opportunities to showcase their work and ideas.

Visibility can be particularly valuable for individuals developing solutions that could potentially be replicated or scaled in other African contexts.

Leadership Development

The programme is strongly connected to youth leadership.

Participants can gain experience engaging in high-level discussions, presenting ideas, working with peers from different backgrounds, and contributing to recommendations on continental health priorities.

Contribution to Africa’s Health Agenda

Perhaps the most important benefit is the opportunity to contribute to conversations about Africa’s health future.

Participants are not simply attending a conference; the programme is designed to help young Africans develop priorities and recommendations that can feed into wider CPHIA 2026 discussions.

Application and Preparation

Applicants should approach the opportunity strategically.

Before applying, prospective participants should consider the following steps.

Step 1: Review the Five Tracks

Identify the thematic track that best reflects your:

• Academic background
• Professional experience
• Research
• Innovation
• Advocacy
• Community work
• Career interests

A strong application should demonstrate a clear connection between the applicant’s experience and the selected thematic area.

Step 2: Understand the Youth Pre-Conference Objectives

Applicants should familiarise themselves with the purpose of YPC 2026 and the broader Africa CDC youth engagement agenda.

Understanding the programme’s objectives can help applicants demonstrate why they are interested in participating and what they hope to contribute.

Step 3: Highlight Your Contribution

Applicants should clearly communicate what they have already done.

For example, applicants can highlight:

• Research projects
• Community initiatives
• Health campaigns
• Innovation projects
• Volunteer activities
• Advocacy work
• Entrepreneurship
• Leadership roles
• Public health programmes
• Digital health solutions
• Academic achievements related to health

Specific examples are generally more compelling than broad statements about being passionate about public health.

Step 4: Explain Your Future Contribution

Applicants should also consider what they intend to contribute after participating.

This might include:

• Sharing knowledge with their communities.
• Developing new partnerships.
• Scaling an existing initiative.
• Contributing to public health research.
• Supporting health education.
• Advancing youth engagement.
• Strengthening community health programmes.
• Developing innovative health solutions.

Learn More and Apply HERE!

Prospectus and Official Application Information

Africa CDC has provided an official prospectus containing additional information about the Youth Pre-Conference 2026 and its five thematic tracks.

Applicants should review the prospectus carefully before completing their application.

English Prospectus: Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026 – English

French Prospectus: Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026 – French

The prospectus should be treated as an important source for understanding the detailed application requirements and thematic focus of the programme.

Application Deadline

The Africa CDC announcement was published on 31 August 2026.

The supplied announcement does not state a specific application deadline in the visible call information. Applicants should therefore consult the official Africa CDC application page and the relevant prospectus for the current submission deadline before applying.

Because application windows can close quickly, eligible young Africans are encouraged to review the official information and submit their applications as early as possible.

Location and Regional Scope

The Youth Pre-Conference is a continental African youth platform associated with CPHIA 2026.

It is designed to bring together young Africans from:

• Central Africa
• Eastern Africa
• Northern Africa
• Southern Africa
• Western Africa

The programme will take place immediately ahead of the 5th International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2026). Applicants should consult the official Africa CDC materials for the specific event location and participation arrangements.

Key Areas Covered by YPC 2026

The programme’s five tracks collectively address several of Africa’s most important public health priorities:

Track	Main Focus
Digital Health, Research and Innovation	Technology, research, innovation and digital health
Building Africa’s Public Health Workforce	Skills, leadership and health workforce development
One Health, Emergency Preparedness and Response	Disease preparedness, response and health security
Local Manufacturing and Health Sovereignty	Local production, innovation and reduced health-system dependency
Youth Leadership on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV	Youth-centred sexual and reproductive health and HIV leadership

How to Make Your Application Stand Out

Applicants should focus on demonstrating evidence of engagement and potential impact.

A strong application can communicate:

• What public health problem you are addressing.
• Why the issue matters in your community or country.
• What you have already done about the problem.
• What you have learned from your experience.
• How your work connects with one of the five YPC tracks.
• What you hope to learn from participating.
• What you can contribute to the Youth Pre-Conference.
• How you intend to use the experience after the event.
• How your work contributes to Africa’s broader health priorities.

Applicants should avoid relying entirely on general statements such as “I am passionate about health.”

Instead, provide concrete examples of your involvement, leadership, research, innovation, advocacy, community service, or professional work.

Why Young Africans Should Consider This Opportunity

The Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026 comes at an important moment for Africa’s public health agenda.

The continent faces complex challenges involving disease outbreaks, health workforce capacity, digital transformation, health financing, local manufacturing, emergency preparedness, health inequalities, sexual and reproductive health, and access to quality healthcare.

Addressing these challenges requires strong institutions and resources, but it also requires a generation of young Africans equipped with the knowledge, networks, leadership skills, and opportunities to contribute.

YPC 2026 creates a platform for young people to participate directly in this process.

It connects youth engagement with Africa CDC’s broader Health Security and Sovereignty agenda and the implementation of the YES!Health Strategy 2025–2028.

For young Africans who are already working on public health challenges or developing solutions for their communities, this can be an important platform for visibility, learning, collaboration, and continental engagement.

Conclusion

The Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026 is a major youth engagement platform designed to bring young Africans closer to the conversations shaping the continent’s public health future.

Taking place immediately before CPHIA 2026, the programme provides a platform for young health professionals, students, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, advocates, communicators, and community leaders to connect, exchange ideas, showcase solutions, and contribute to recommendations on Africa’s health security and sovereignty.

The programme is organised around five important areas: Digital Health, Research and Innovation; Building Africa’s Public Health Workforce; One Health, Emergency Preparedness and Response; Local Manufacturing and Health Sovereignty; and Youth Leadership on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV.

Beyond networking, YPC 2026 is intended to generate practical outcomes, including youth priorities for CPHIA 2026, stronger partnerships between young leaders and health institutions, greater visibility for African-led solutions, and concrete opportunities to advance the YES!Health Strategy.

Eligible young Africans from across the continent should carefully review the official prospectus, identify the track that best matches their experience and interests, and prepare an application that demonstrates both their existing contribution to public health and their potential to create future impact.

The Africa CDC announcement is dated 31 August 2026. A specific application deadline is not stated in the supplied announcement, so prospective applicants should verify the current deadline and application instructions through the official Africa CDC materials before submitting.

Official Source: Africa CDC – Applications Now Open: Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference 2026