Between 15th and 19th July 2014, a mission was conducted in Addis Ababa by senior IGAD staff from the Secretariat and IRAPP.
During the five-day program, plans for the first IGAD International Scientific Conference on Health were concretized through meetings with a variety of partners and stakeholders. These included officials of the African Federation of Public Health Associations who are providing technical leadership to the December conference.
Others that were visited and consulted are the State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Federal Minister for Health who would host the conference on behalf of IGAD. The mission also held discussions with officials of UNECA, UNDP, JICA and Ramada Pharmaceuticals.
Among the plans in place include the setting up of a permanent organizing secretariat, developing a comprehensive communications strategy and mobilizing resources for the conference and sustainability of the health programs in the region.
A call for abstracts has been issued and the deadline is 5th September. The scientific committee has also been constituted, while the national coordination committee and its sub-committees are to be established shortly.
