16 March 2015: In less the two months’ time, regional and international healthcare professionals and medical experts will meet at the 5th annual Africa Health Exhibition & Congress. The event, which aims to provide medical professionals with the insights and updates on the latest healthcare developments in Africa, is set to take place from 5th-7th May 2015 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Africa Health is the continent’s largest healthcare exhibition and medical conference, which is hosted by Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions. The event is expected to attract more than 7000 healthcare professionals and play host to more than 500 of the world’s leading healthcare suppliers, manufacturers and service providers.
Africa Health will also include 13 CPD-accredited conferences, in which more than 140 international and regional speakers will address over 1000 delegates on key areas within the medical sector, including; surgery, quality, patient safety, healthcare management and nursing, amongst others. This year’s event also includes four new conferences that have been added to the event line-up; Patient Safety, Public Health, Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation and Hospital Build.
According to Lisa Stephens, Executive Director of Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions, the event hopes to highlight critical issues affecting the healthcare landscape in 2015, particularly the recent Ebola outbreak, HIV/Aids, malaria, as well as a lack of access to healthcare.
She says that healthcare professionals will also use Africa Health to discuss solutions to improving healthcare quality, standards and safety, improving healthcare outcomes, managing healthcare costs and infrastructure, as well as finding workable solutions that will help achieve universal health care. “Delegates will also be turning their attention to discussions around strategies for navigating the digital technology integration into the healthcare landscape, as well as regional initiatives to promote access to affordable healthcare in the various African regions.”
All conferences are not-for-profit and delegates are charged a nominal fee of R100 ($10 USD) per conference. All delegate fees will be donated to Steps Charity, the official charity of Africa Health 2015.
The Africa Health exhibition will be used as a platform to showcase thousands of new healthcare products, equipment and services from some of the main players in the industry. This will also include a Training Village that will offer 12 free-to-attend workshops where top specialists will run hands-on training sessions on the most sophisticated and up-to-date devices and technology.
Stephens points out that a lack of skilled healthcare professionals continues to remain a big problem within the industry. “To help improve professional placements within the industry, Africa Health will have a Recruitment Zone that will act as a hub for career opportunities.”
Running alongside the main event for the fifth year, Africa Health 2015 will feature MEDLAB South Africa (the medical laboratory and IVD show).
Africa Health is supported by South African Nursing Council (SANC), the Alliance of South African Independent Practitioners (ASAIPA), The Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA) and Diabetes South Africa, as well as international healthcare giants such as Maquet, Draeger, GE Healthcare and Stiegelmeyer.