Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference

Application Deadline: 31 August 2024

The Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference (YPC) is an Africa CDC youth initiative held annually at the margins of the International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA). It brings together young African public health professionals from all over the continent and the diaspora, with the aim of providing a platform to network with young leading health experts, exchange with their peers on existing and emerging health issues on the continent and present their contribution to a continental audience.

“Amplifying Youth Voices: Youth Shaping Health Policy, Practice and Research in Africa”

The Africa CDC is pleased to announce the 2024 Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference (YPC 2024), to be held, in person from 23-24 November 2024 in Rabat, Morocco, under the theme “Amplifying Youth Voices: Youth Shaping Health Policy, Practice, and Research in Africa”. Its aim is to (1) showcase the remarkable contributions young Africans are already making in health policy, practice, and research; and (2) explore how to broaden engagement with and further empower these young leaders to transform the health sector across Africa.

The YPC 2024 will feature six tracks [1] where youth are already leading the charge:

Youth and Digital Health Innovations
Empowering Youth: Workforce/Talent Development for Job Opportunities
Youth for the Advancement of Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Youth Championing Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS
Youth Health Advocates supporting CHWs activities and Programmes
Youth and One Health for a Healthier Future

Dates, Venue, Proposed Framework

The 2024 Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference will take place in-person from 23-24 November 2024 in Rabat, Morocco.

It will include:

Plenary sessions and Keynotes by high-level individuals.
Parallel sessions and workshops in a range of formats to encourage broad participation.
Oral and poster presentations of youth-led or youth-focused research and projects.
Networking opportunities.

Eligibility and Participant Selection

Applicants must meet all the below criteria to be eligible to apply:

Age: 18 to 35 years
Citizenship: Applicants must be a citizen of an AU member State
Experience and expertise: have an educational background (at least enrolled as undergraduate) and first professional experiences in health and health-adjacent disciplines. Extensive work experience in public health may be used as a supplement by applicants holding degrees unrelated to health sciences or public health.
Leadership and commitment: participants must demonstrate leadership potential and strong commitment to public health engagement through involvement in youth-led health initiatives, advocacy, or community organising.

How to Apply

Please fill out the application form online: https://tinyurl.com/YPC2024-Call-For-Applications by 31 August 2024, 05pm EAT.
Submit your CV and a 300-word abstract or article relating to the track of your choice.

Guidelines for submission can be found below:

Article/Abstract Submission Guidelines:

The abstract/article must be clearly aligned with the track of choice (one among the 6 tracks) and must be related to youth in Africa.
The abstract/article should only be submitted once and only under one of the six tracks. Submission of the same abstract under multiple tracks will likely result in the rejection of your application.
The abstract/article must not exceed 300 words.
Participants can choose one of following submission options for their application:

Option 1: Policy or implementation project abstract on the theory of change behind or lessons learnt through policy or program development, planning, and/or implementation.

Submissions under this option must contain:

title and list of authors,
background,
description of the project/policy,
theory of change behind policy/program or lessons learnt during implementation (including best practices), and
conclusion demonstrating the significance for the track of choice.

Option 2: Article or commentary with a title and clear thesis on an issue connecting African youth to the selected track. The article/commentary must demonstrate a nuanced and expert understanding of the topic/track chosen.
Option 3: Research abstract to report research findings.

Submissions under this option must contain:

title and list of authors,
background,
research methods,
results (disaggregated by age/gender if possible), and
conclusions demonstrating the significance of the findings to the track chosen.

Important dates

The application for participation shall be opened by 12^th August 2024.
The deadline for application is 31 August 2024, 05:00 pm East Africa Time.
The selected applicants will be contacted before the end of September 2024.
Confirmation of attendance deadline: 20 October 2024.
Conference dates: 23^rd – 24^th November 2024.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference

Application Deadline: 22 November 2022

The International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) is an annual Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) conference that aims to place public health at the center of the continent’s Agenda 2063- the Africa we want. The inauguration conference, CPHIA 2021, bought together over 12,000 public health stakeholders from across the continent and the world to share scientific findings, collaborate on research and implementation and chart a shared course towards a more secure future for Africa. Africa CDC will convene a Youth Pre-Conference on 10 – 11 December 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda prior to its 2nd Annual International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) 2022.

Civil society and young people play a crucial role in African countries in promoting public health and reaching communities. With African youth constituting over 65% of the continent’s population, their meaningful engagement has the potential of positively impacting Africa’s health security. Therefore, their structured and systematic engagement in the conversation on public health in Africa is key. Acknowledging this, Africa CDC will convene a Youth Pre-Conference on 10-11 December 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda prior to its 2nd Annual International
Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) 2022. The aim is to kick-start a long-term strategic engagement between Africa CDC and young people, to advance the full implementation of the NPHO and thereby, drive health security in Africa and globally.

This Youth Pre-Conference will take place in-person and participants are invited to participate at the CPHIA 2022 (13-15 December 2022) to engage in the conversation on the theme: meaningful youth engagement for advancing sustainable health security in Africa. Africa CDC is therefore announcing a call for applications for young public health professionals who are interested in participating in this conference.

Requirements

The conference will target young people with track records of work/experience and education (at least enrolled as undergraduate)
in the areas of medical science, public health, health technology, as well as public health advocacy, development cooperation and
journalism focused on health etc
Representatives should be from youth-led and youth-oriented organisations and networks, associations, academia or in an individual capacity.
Interest in public health and engagement as a youth advocate in the area.
Youth that have also led or engaged in public health related projects, research and initiatives are invited to apply.
Age: 18 – 35

Expected Outcome

Inauguration of a long-term and institutionalised youth engagement framework to advance the full implementation of the NPHO and
thereby, drive health security in Africa and globally.
Mapping of youth engagement in public health and actionable recommendations to enhance their contributions to public health and
health security in Africa.

Financing
Africa CDC will cover all travel related costs of participants, with support from its partners

The Pre-Conference

2 days pre-conference in Kigali, Rwanda, prior to the CPHIA 2022 (10-11 December 2022).

Format

Workshops and capacity development sessions on the AU COVID-19 Bingwa Initiative
Presentations and TEDx style sessions
Cultural events
Showcases, Networking and exhibition spaces

Selection Criteria

The application will be open until 22 November 2022 05:00 pm EAT. The selected applicants will be notified by 28 November 2022.
Detailed information about their participation and the agenda will be available by 05 December 2022.

How to Apply

Applicants for the Youth Pre-Conference are expected to fill out the application form online with their personal information, educational and
professional background attaching a:

– Statement briefly detailing why they want to participate in the Youth Pre-Conference, highlighting the role of the youth in advancing
sustainable health security in Africa,
– A copy of passport.
– A curriculum Vitae

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference

Call for Applications: 2024 Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference (YPC2024), Rabat, Morocco (Sponsorship Available)

Africa CDC Youth Pre-Conference on the Margins of the 2nd Annual International Conference On Public Health In Africa (Fully Funded to Kigali, Rwanda)