Invitation and call for abstracts: 3rd Virtual Pharmaceutical Policy Symposium 23-24 June 2026
Dear all
You are cordially invited to attend the 3rd Pharmaceutical Policy meeting hosted by the UKZN WHO CC for Pharmaceutical Policy and Evidence Based Practice. The meeting will be in the form of short online sessions spread over two days. The online format provides an opportunity to reach more policy makers and researchers in the field of pharmaceutical policy.
Contents of the meeting
The symposium will discuss the history of the Essential Medicines List (EML) concept, the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, its evolution, and global relevance today. Research on the WHO Model List or National EMLs will also be shared in relation to their alignment, and impact on any or all aspects of the pharmaceutical value chain within particular countries (or across countries). Keynote lectures will be delivered around this central theme. Abstracts will be presented and discussed in online parallel sessions. Abstracts are not limited to the central theme; all research in the field of pharmaceutical policy is eligible for submission. However, the focus of the sessions will be on the proposed streams:
* Relevance of the WHO Model List today
* Progress countries have made in ensuring access to essential medicines
Abstracts for presentations
Abstracts should relate to planned or ongoing research and should at least state rationale, objective(s) and methods. Where possible early results can be presented. Abstracts should be in English. The abstract text should not exceed 250 words. Abstracts for presentations must be submitted by 8 May 2026 (South African COB 5pm) using the template which can be found at:
You will be informed whether your abstract is accepted or not by 29 May 2026. Only one abstract should be submitted per person because of the limited number of abstracts that can be presented. The presentations should be for a maximum time of 15 minutes and should be based on a maximum of 10 PowerPoint slides. All sessions will be chaired by two senior researchers. Full papers should not be submitted in advance.
Target group
The primary target group for participation in this Virtual Symposium are Masters and PhD students directly related to or closely working with any WHO Collaborating Centre. However, other Masters and PhD students, post-doctoral fellows and senior researchers who have an interest in pharmaceutical policy are welcome to submit abstracts.
Meeting details
The conference will be held online through MS Teams. The keynote lectures and parallel sessions will be spread over the course of two days between 13h00-17h00 Central African Time (UTC+2). The final programme will be based on abstract submissions and will be sent to all attendees before 18 June 2026.
Please register before 1 June 2026 through the following link: 3rd Virtual Pharmaceutical Policy Symposium 23-24 June 2026
The meeting is free for all participants.
Contact information
Please send enquiries and abstracts to Prof Fatima Suleman at mailto:sulemanf@ukzn.ac.za
Regards, Fatima
Prof. F Suleman
Research Professor: School of Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences
Director: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Evidence-Based Practice Westville Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal Private Bag X54001, Durban, 4000. South Africa
(tel) +27 31 2607358 (sec)/+27 31 260 7941 (direct)
(fax) +27 31 260 7906/7792
(email) mailto:sulemanf@ukzn.ac.za
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