Organized by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the fourth Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) takes place October 22 – 25, 2025 in Durban, South Africa. This year’s event will convene policymakers, researchers, health care workers, and other stakeholders to highlight the theme, “Moving towards Self-Reliance to Achieve Universal Health Coverage and Health Security in Africa.”
USP participation
Exploring models for sustainability to expand Africa’s manufacturing base
Thursday, October 23, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm SAST
Venue: Hall 2C, Durban International Convention Center
An overdependence on pharmaceutical imports across Africa is a major barrier to achieving equitable access to medicines and advancing health security goals. However, several new initiatives currently aim to expand production of vaccines, therapeutics, and other essential medical products, including the MedSuRe Africa project and the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme. In this session, Africa CDC, Medicines Patent Pool, USP, and Unitaid will highlight how increasing access to technology, developing capacity for regional production for vaccines and therapeutics, and addressing market dynamics in Africa’s biopharmaceutical sector can help improve sustainability across the continent.
Speakers (Click here for speaker bios):
- Beth Yeager, Director of MCH Market Access and Systems Strengthening, USP
- Glaudina Loots, Director for Health Innovation, South Africa Department of Science and Innovation
- Aggrey Aluso, Global Policy Lead, Pandemic Action Network
- Jens W. Pedersen, Senior Advisor, Africa CDC
- Tiwa Braimoh, Policy & Advocacy Manager, Medicines Patent Pool
- Emmanuel Mujuru, Chairperson, Federation of African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (FAPMA)
View the full agenda: https://cphia2025.com/
Not able to join? Follow us @USPGlobalHealth for updates. #CPHIA2025
Speaker bios
Beth Yeager
Director, Market Access for Maternal and Child Health and Systems Strengthening and Acting Deputy Director, MedSure, USP
Beth Yeager has more than 25 years of experience in the design, implementation, and monitoring of public health programs, as well as in qualitative and quantitative methodologies for public health research, including for maternal and child health, reproductive health, infectious diseases, behavior change interventions to improve medicine use, and nutrition. Prior to joining USP, she worked with USAID-funded programs at Chemonics International and MSH. Ms. Yeager has served on technical resource teams created under the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children and is the former chair of the Maternal Health Supplies Caucus, Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition. Ms. Yeager holds a master’s degree in international health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Glaudina Loots
Director for Health Innovation, South Africa Department of Science and Innovation
Glaudina Loots is the Director for Health Innovation at the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation in South Africa. She concentrates on enabling research and innovation that leads to discovery and evaluation of new drug and treatment regimes, the development of new vaccines and new robust diagnostics, as well as the development of medical devices and digital health applications. Glaudina was instrumental in the creation of the Strategic Health Innovation Partnership Initiative (SHIP) at the South African Medical Research Council. Amongst others, Glaudina is a member of the South African National AIDS Council, and the Advisory Board of the “Towards an HIV Cure Initiative” of the International AIDS Society, as well as the steering committee of various research centres of excellence. Currently she is the Vice-Chair of the Board of the European Developing Country Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), as well as a member of the Board of the EU Global Health EDCTP Joint Undertaking. (EDCTP3). Glaudina is also one of the members for the Health Innovation for All Advisory Committee of the Institute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. She is also an alternative Director on the Board of The Biovac Institute, a Public-Private-Partnership aimed at the local manufacturing of vaccines and biologics.
Aggrey Aluso
Global Policy Lead, Pandemic Action Network
Aggrey Aluso is the Director, Africa Region, at Pandemic Action Network, where he brings over 15 years of experience in advancing intersectional justice, using citizen led, rights-based approaches in Africa. Most recently, he served as a senior manager at Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa’s (OSIEA), providing oversight and thought leadership for the Health and Rights program focused on addressing structural determinants of health in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Aggrey coordinated the Open Society Africa (Pan Africa) Vaccine Justice to bolster Africa’s evolving work in advancing vaccine-related research, development, and manufacturing. He has also served as the East African Policy and Advocacy manager for the University of Manitoba’s Global Institute for Public Health. Aggrey holds a master's degree in Gender and Development from the University of Nairobi, a bachelor's degree from Egerton University, and certificates from INSEAD on Leading for results and Policy and Legislative drafting from the University of Johannesburg amongst others.
Tiwadayo Braimoh
Policy & Advocacy Manager, Medicines Patent Pool
Tiwadayo Braimoh has 24 years of experience spanning both the profit and non-profit sectors. His work in public health has focused on health product access, economics and policy. He currently works with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) in Geneva, Switzerland, where he contributes to expanding access to innovative health products through intellectual property licensing and technology transfer. Tiwa began his career in the pharmaceutical industry, progressing from a medical representative to a product manager and later a business development manager. After a decade in the private sector, he transitioned in 2013 to the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), where he worked on public health programs to improve access to medicines. Over the years, he has also provided technical assistance to governments on health financing policy to support universal health coverage. He holds an MSc in Health Policy, Planning, and Financing from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, as well as an MBA from the University of Lagos. Tiwa is also a pharmacist and a Fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists.
Emmanuel Mujuru
Chairperson, Federation of African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (FAPMA)
Emmanuel Mujuru is FAPMA’s Chairperson and the Group Chief Executive Officer and founder of Plus Five Pharmaceuticals (Private) Limited which is a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company with operations in pharmaceutical manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing and real estate in Zimbabwe including exports to regional markets. Emmanuel is a pharmacist, entrepreneur and industrialist with a passion for the development of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry not only in Zimbabwe but across Africa. He has been active in the pharmaceutical industry for the past 30 years, with extensive experience in pharmaceutical business development, management, strategy, production, research and development, quality assurance, marketing and distribution among others. Emmanuel has extensive leadership experience on industry boards including: immediate past-Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PMA) in Zimbabwe; National Executive Committee Member (Exco) and National Council Member of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI); President of the Mashonaland Chamber of Industries (CZI); Board Member of the Pharmacists Council of Zimbabwe; Board Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe (PSZ); and Treasurer and former Chairperson of the Southern African Generic Medicines Association (SAGMA).