Centre of Excellence for Pharmacovigilance in Southern Africa (CEPSA): Early achievements and future plans

At the 18th World Congress on Public Health, held in Cape Town, South Africa from 6-9 September 2026, Dr Hazel Bradley presented an e-poster on CEPSA’s achievements and future plans.

Dr Hazel Bradley presented an e-poster titled: Centre of Excellence for Pharmacovigilance in Southern Africa (CEPSA): Early achievements and future plans.  The e-poster summarised some of CEPSA’s achievements to date, such as the face-to face Advanced Pharmacovigilance Training Workshops, commencement of the Mentoring and Mobility Programmes and the Research and Policy support initiatives, as well as the first risk communication Webinar.  Future plans include continuing to strengthen relationships and build skills amongst pharmacovigilance colleagues across Africa.

The Congress brought together public health professionals, researchers, policymakers, students and partners from around the world under the theme: Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability. Key themes that emerged across plenaries, oral presentations, posters and special sessions centered on questions of power, access, trust, leadership and implementation. These were themes that resonated with CEPSA. Sessions that were of particular interest to CEPSA colleagues included: Building Vaccine Confidence, Politics of Pandemic Preparedness, and Can International Law Influence Health Outcome? Overall, the congress provided an opportunity to interact with colleagues working in the broader field of Public Health as well as a smaller number who had a particular interest in medical products access and safety. Other CEPSA colleagues who attended the congress included Prof Raffaella Ravinetto (ITM), Ms Carnita Ernest and Scientific Board member Prof Hannelie Meyer (SMU).