The Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) has announced that Abu Dhabi will host the 25th International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) World Conference from May 13th to 16th, 2025. This will be the first time the conference is held in the Middle East. The event will bring together global experts, policymakers, leaders, healthcare practitioners, and educators to tackle global health and wellbeing issues and explore opportunities for health promotion and education. As a prominent IUHPE member, ADPHC aims to offer a strategic platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and advancement in health policy.
Dr. Ahmed AlKhazraji, Acting Director-General of ADPHC, expressed pride in hosting the IUHPE World Conference in Abu Dhabi. He highlighted the importance of this event in promoting international collaboration and sustainable development in health. "Abu Dhabi's selection as the host for the next edition of this event reflects the Emirate's commitment to excellence in health and its contribution to the enhancement of global health systems", Dr. AlKhazraji stated.
"The conference will facilitate unprecedented stakeholder participation from local and global health ecosystems, fostering collaborations to propose solutions for building health promotion systems for a better future. As a strategic partner for this esteemed conference, ADPHC looks forward to contributing to the global health conversation and working with international leaders to address the common health challenges we are facing".
The IUHPE World Conference is focused on enhancing global health through education, community engagement, and the formulation of public health policies. It will address the growing complexity and diversity of global health challenges, including the rise of noncommunicable diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, the increasing frequency of pandemics due to emerging and re-emerging diseases, escalating mental health issues, and the impacts of climate change.
Sione Tu'itahi, IUHPE President, added, "given the environmental, economic, and social challenges that threaten the wellbeing of the planet and its peoples, IUHPE greatly values its collaboration with ADPHC to co-host our 25th World Conference on Health Promotion. We work together with our members such as ADPHC and our partners, such as the World Health Organisation, to contribute health promotion solutions to the poly-crisis we are facing as one planet, and one human family, with a common future".
The most recent IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion took place online in May 2022, with the theme 'Promoting policies for health, well-being, and equity.' Hosted from the Palais des Congrès in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the conference focused on the global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, strained public health systems, and recurring issues related to climate change.
Key speakers at the conference will include Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization; Dr. Rüdiger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at the World Health Organization; Dr. Cindy Blackstock, member of the Gitxsan First Nation, Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, and Professor at McGill University's School of Social Work; Sandro Galea, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor at Boston University School of Public Health; Karine Gentelet, Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Université du Québec en Outaouais and Abeona-ENS-OBVIA Chair on Artificial Intelligence and Social Justice; along with many other distinguished global experts.
