The Ebola threat, the mass exit of health workers abroad, and deep gaps in medical infrastructure will take centre stage as the West African College of Physicians (WACP) opens its week-long 50th anniversary summit in Abuja on Monday, October 26, 2026.
More than 1,300 medical experts from across West Africa are expected at the gathering, which will assess the region’s most urgent health challenges and chart a course for stronger health systems over the next five decades.
The summit comes as Nigeria responds to a confirmed Ebola case, prompting the College to introduce health screening, hand-hygiene stations, isolation procedures and coordination with health authorities to protect delegates and the host community.
The meeting follows a visit by members of the College to President Bola Tinubu at the State House, where he urged physicians across the region to develop practical responses to disease outbreaks and the shortage of skilled health workers.
WACP President Dr Mamadou Mourtalla said the summit would review advances in medical science, professional training, healthcare infrastructure and infectious-disease control. Delegates will present more than 70 scientific papers, with discussions focusing on how African countries can respond faster and more effectively to epidemics without overwhelming fragile health systems.
At the close of the summit, the College is expected to release a communiqué outlining recommendations for governments and regional institutions. Dr Mourtalla stressed that implementation would be critical, noting that the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Director-General of the West African Health Organisation, and representatives of the Nigerian government are expected to take part.
The summit will also confront the migration of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals abroad, popularly known in Nigeria as the Japa phenomenon, and examine the poor working conditions, limited career opportunities and infrastructure deficits driving the exodus.
Assistant Secretary-General of the WACP, Dr Habibu Galadanci, said a dedicated session would examine the factors pushing healthcare workers out of their home countries and the incentives attracting them to foreign health systems.
He said Tinubu had specifically urged the College to discuss the issue and propose solutions.
Other areas of focus include the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as kidney disease and hypertension, infectious disease outbreaks, maternal and reproductive health, mental healthcare and access to safe medical services for women and children.
The summit will also consider the use of artificial intelligence in medicine, ethical concerns in patient management and the development of balanced scorecards to improve the performance of public hospitals.
Galadanci said West Africa had made progress in training medical professionals but continued to lose skilled personnel to countries seeking to recruit them.
He added that the College would examine emerging health challenges, including dementia as populations age, and mental health conditions that remain widely stigmatised.
As part of its corporate social responsibility activities, WACP members held a medical outreach in Waru community, a suburb of the FCT, on Saturday, providing free healthcare services to men, women and children.
The week-long meeting is expected to produce recommendations on strengthening healthcare delivery, retaining skilled professionals and improving the region’s capacity to respond to infectious disease threats, including Ebola.
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