By: Henrietta Afful
The 23rd Edition of the ICASA Conference opened in Accra on December 3 and will run through December 8, 2025. The six-day conference, held under the theme “Africa in Action: Catalysing Integrated Sustainable Responses to End AIDS, TB & Malaria,” is the largest continental gathering focused on HIV/AIDS, STIs, TB, Malaria, and health systems strengthening in Africa.
Ghana is, for the first time, hosting the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), marking a significant milestone as the event returns for its 23rd edition.
ICASA is a major bilingual conference held exclusively on the African continent, alternating biennially between Anglophone and Francophone countries. For more than 30 years, it has played a pivotal role in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, and Malaria, while fostering an environment free from stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their families.
The conference aims to catalyze Africa’s progress toward triple elimination and the development of sustainable, resilient health systems. It also seeks to drive innovation through digital technologies and strengthen cooperation among governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations to enhance health security and improve pandemic preparedness and response.
It also seeks to strengthen capacity and facilitate knowledge exchange for healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers, empower communities and promote human rights and gender equality in the context of HIV/AIDS as well as emerging and reemerging disease sustainable solutions to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of critical AIDS funding.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on Wednesady, December 3, 2025 on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, the Vice President of Ghana, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman, urged the continent to take bold steps forward, confront hard truths, and set its own agenda especially at a time when global shifts have led to reduced donor support for healthcare.
“We cannot continue to outsource our healthcare priorities; we must lead our own reforms, build sustainable systems, and strengthen our collective resolve,” the Vice President said.
This year’s ICASA conference brought together heads of government delegations, health ministers, global health agencies, UN representatives, leading researchers, civil society groups, PLHIV networks, youth organisations, donor partners, community advocates, and private sector actors from across Africa and beyond.
Also in attendance are continental health institutions, regional economic blocs, pharmaceutical stakeholders, and signatories to major global health initiatives, all reaffirming their commitment to strengthening Africa’s health security and ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
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