Africa Patient Safety Summit — Medicines for Africa
Summit plenary session
Leadership Forum 2026

Programme

Two focused days following risks across the medicines journey and turning evidence, experience and leadership into practical action.

Programme overview

16–17 September 2026

This public overview presents the thematic arc of the Leadership Forum. Confirmed participants will receive the detailed programme, session assignments and practical information through the Summit app.

Summit plenary session

Day 116 September 2026

Participants will follow risks across the medicines journey, examine why safety information is lost, and identify weaknesses in detection, reporting, escalation and coordinated response.

  1. 1

    Opening and Forum framing

    Opening

    The Forum purpose, the medicines journey and the working method for the two days.

  2. 2

    Session 1: Existing and emerging risks to medicines safety

    Session

    Risks across supply, product quality and new models of access, and what detection and enforcement experience reveals.

  3. 3

    Session 2: Managing risk, responsibilities and fit-for-purpose safety systems

    Session

    Reporting, institutional feedback loops and the national and continental systems needed to turn safety information into action.

  4. 4

    Working session: How African regulatory, surveillance and enforcement systems must evolve to protect patients

    Working session

    Participants will identify the changes needed for stronger detection, escalation, coordination and response.

  5. 5

    Day 1 synthesis and questions carried forward

    Synthesis

    The main findings and unresolved questions that will shape the second day.

Day output: A shared account of the priority medicines-safety risks, the points where information and response break down, and the questions requiring further work.

Summit panel discussion

Day 217 September 2026

Participants will examine real-world safety, patient experience, institutional capability and prevention, before agreeing practical actions, responsibilities and areas requiring continental collaboration.

  1. 1

    Session 3: Safety beyond approval

    Session

    Real-world evidence and the clinical, frontline and patient signals that emerge after products enter use.

  2. 2

    Session 4: Patient experience as a source of learning

    Session

    How patient and community experience can strengthen safety learning, pharmacovigilance and institutional response.

  3. 3

    Session 5: Building systems that prevent, not react

    Session

    The institutional capability, patient involvement and strategic vigilance needed to identify and prevent harm earlier.

  4. 4

    Working session: Practical actions, areas requiring continental collaboration and responsibilities

    Working session

    Participants will translate the two days of discussion into practical priorities, responsibilities and areas for joint action.

  5. World Patient Safety Day Special

    5

    Live Leadership Roundtable

    Roundtable

    The Forum will culminate in a live Leadership Roundtable bringing together regulatory, institutional, clinical, patient and industry perspectives. The discussion will consider the priorities emerging from the two days, institutional responsibilities and the route from the Kigali Forum into the 90-day follow-up process and APSS 2027.

  6. 6

    Closing reflections, next steps and the road to APSS 2027

    Close

    Closing reflections will confirm immediate next steps and connect the Forum’s work to the 90-day process and APSS 2027.

Day output: A focused set of practical actions, clearer institutional responsibilities and agreed areas for continental collaboration and follow-through.