Abu Dhabi to tackle global health challenges at meet

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.

Taking place in the Middle East for the first time, from 13th to 16th May, 2025, the conference will bring together industry experts, policymakers, leaders, healthcare practitioners, and educators from around the globe to address global health and wellbeing challenges and identify opportunities for health promotion and education. As a key member of the IUHPE, ADPHC aims to provide a strategic platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and health policy advancement.

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 dedicated to improving global health through education, community engagement, and the development of public health policies. It will tackle global health challenges that continue to increase in complexity and diversity. These include the rise of noncommunicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease, an increase in pandemics caused by emerging and re-emerging diseases, growing mental health issues and 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 last IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion was held online in May 2022 under the theme ‘Promoting policies for health, well-being and equity’ from the Palais des Congrès of Montreal in Québec, Canada. The event was centred around the global context of the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, strained public health systems, and recurrent events associated with climate change.

The conference provided an important and timely space for collaboration, re-evaluation of systems, and clarity toward transformative health promotion actions.

Key speakers at the conference include Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of World Health Organisation; Dr. Rüdiger Krech, Director for Health Promotion, World Health Organisation; Dr. Cindy Blackstock, member of the Gitxsan First Nation, Executive Director, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society &Professor, McGill University’s School of Social Work; Sandro Galea, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor, Boston University School of Public Health; Karine Gentelet, Professor in the Department of Social Sciences, Université du Québec en Outaouais and Abeona-ENS-OBVIA Chair on Artificial Intelligence and Social Justice; and numerous other globally-renowned speakers.

WAM