International Congress of Epidemiology and Public Health, 13-16 March 2023 in Lomé/ Interview with Prof Didier Koumavi Ekouevi, President of the organisation

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Extract from the article: Le Togo abrite du 13 au 16 mars 2023 un Congrès international d’épidémiologie et de Santé publique qui aura lieu à Lomé. Cet évènement est organisé par le Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Santé Publique en collaboration avec le Département de S

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« It will be a real melting pot of cultures and scientific approaches which promises rich and beneficial exchanges for the fight against epidemics and for the strengthening of our health systems in Africa »

Togo is hosting an International Congress of Epidemiology and Public Health from 13 to 16 March 2023 in Lomé. This event is organised by the Centre for Training and Research in Public Health in collaboration with the Department of Public Health of the University of Lomé and will allow the association of French-speaking epidemiologists, field epidemiologists and French-speaking researchers to share their research experience and the results of their work. According to the leaders of the Association des Epidémiologistes de Langue Française (ADELF) and the Association pour le développement de l'épidémiologie de terrain (EPITER), this upcoming congress is "the largest francophone scientific event in the field of epidemiology and public health". These associations ADELF and EPITER bring together more than 500 epidemiologists. Why this conference and what are its objectives? How will this conference impact on epidemiology and public health actions in Togo? Professor Didier Koumavi Ekouevi, the organising president, answers in this interview with Santé-Education.

Santé-Education: The International Congress of Epidemiology and Public Health will take place in Lomé from 13 to 15 March. Why this conference and what are its objectives?

Prof Didier Koumavi Ekouevi: The ADELF-EPITER congress is a French-speaking scientific event in the field of epidemiology and public health that brings together every year, public health actors but also scientists from various fields and countries. The previous congress took place in Laval, Canada in 2022. This congress is therefore part of the annual activities of the association of French-speaking epidemiologists, but it is also part of a health context marked by the emergence of new epidemics with a significant impact on the functioning of our countries. It seemed appropriate to come together to share experiences in terms of response to these diseases. It is for this reason that the theme chosen for this year's congress is "Public Health in the face of emerging and re-emerging diseases". This theme is also part of a context marked by the increasingly frequent resurgence of diseases with epidemic potential, in particular the COVID-19 pandemic, to which the world has responded in an unprecedented manner and against which efforts are continuing. The context is also marked by an outbreak of viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) in Uganda, and an outbreak of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea and Lassa fever in Ghana. Also, the World Health Organization's African region has recorded more than 1800 major public health threats between 2001 and 2022. The ADELF-EPITER Congress is therefore an excellent opportunity to prepare for these threats and to define sustainable and efficient strategies to address them. This congress will also be an opportunity for the continent to demonstrate the development of the discipline of Public Health and its capacity to face these multiple burdens, both in terms of research and training.

The theme of this conference is: public health and emerging and re-emerging diseases. What are these diseases and their impact on health systems and populations today?

According to the World Health Organisation, these are diseases that appear in a population for the first time (emerging), or that probably existed before and are experiencing a sudden increase in terms of new cases or geographical distribution (re-emerging). Environmental changes, human and animal demographics, evolution of pathogens and changes in animal husbandry practices are factors that cause these diseases. Emerging diseases include Covid-19 and coronavirus diseases in general (MERS and SARS), Ebola virus disease, Rift Valley fever (virus), Chikungunya, Marburg virus disease. More simply, a disease caused by a previously unknown infectious agent can be considered emerging. Re-emerging diseases are those that appeared once, disappeared for a period of time, and then reappeared. These diseases have economic implications that go far beyond their direct health costs. Their occurrence can lead to a slowdown in trade and travel. In order to limit the threat of these diseases internationally, there is a need to ensure that surveillance and response are well coordinated at the global level.

Who will be the participants and what will be done concretely during these 4 days of conferences?

It will be a two-day pre-congress, followed by a two-day congress. The pre-congress will consist of two days of training on 13 and 14 March 2023, during which more than 200 participants from the younger generation of researchers and health professionals will be introduced to scientific medical writing and biostatistics. These courses will be given by teachers from the University of Lomé (Togo), the University of Bordeaux (France) and the Karolinska Institute of Stockholm (Sweden).

As for the congress itself, which will take place on 15 and 16 March 2023 at the Hotel du 2 février, the participants are professionals in the field of health in general and more specifically in public health-epidemiology, a speciality that deals with disease prevention, health promotion and the fight against epidemics. There will also be policy makers.

For the health actors, they come from universities (students and professors), networks and research agencies from around the world. Nearly 400 French-speaking researchers from 21 countries around the world are expected in Lomé for this conference. It will be a real melting pot of cultures and scientific approaches which promises rich and beneficial exchanges for the fight against epidemics and for the strengthening of our health systems in Africa. More succinctly, the congress will be punctuated by a series of 40 oral communications and 200 poster communications in the field of communicable and non-communicable diseases. A major symposium led by the French National Agency for Research on AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and Emerging Infectious Diseases (ANRS|MIE) will also be organised. Finally, on the theme of strengthening the health system, a round table on Universal Health Coverage is planned, which will be moderated by experts from the World Health Organisation and policy makers. This round table is organised in partnership with the SUNU Group and the WHO country office.

How will this congress impact on epidemiology and public health actions in Togo?

Public health in Togo has made significant progress in recent years due to the various health scourges that Togo has had to face. However, its role is still little understood by health professionals and the general population. This congress will therefore allow health actors, students and the general population to discover or rediscover this discipline. This congress will also allow participants and health actors from Togo to share their experience in the management of emerging diseases and to benefit from the experience of other countries in order to create a more resilient health system. Overall, this conference will have an impact on epidemiology and public health actions in Togo in several ways. Firstly, the holding of the ADELF-EPITER conference in our country will raise the level of knowledge of young Togolese researchers in the field of public health and epidemiology. These young researchers of our country, who constitute a force of proposal will thus be able in the future to obtain scientific elements to be submitted to the policies for an improvement of our health system and the health of the populations. Secondly, this conference will also have an impact on public health training in our country. Indeed, the presence at this conference of eminent public health teachers from renowned universities will be an opportunity to strengthen North-South and South-South training partnerships. Thirdly, it should also be noted that a large round table will be organised on Universal Health Coverage, a guarantee of equitable access to health services for the population, which is a priority for the Togolese government. The Universal Health Coverage aims to allow all Togolese, regardless of their location, to have access to quality health care. From this round table and all other discussions, concrete solutions and proposals will emerge that can be submitted to our government to support the efforts already made. Finally, this congress is an ideal opportunity for our country to show leadership and the involvement of the highest authorities in the field of epidemiology, public health and the fight against diseases in general.

Interview by Gadiel TSONYADZI