The Public Health Association of South Africa invited the South African  public health community  and our international colleagues to Johannesburg, South Africa for  the 13th annual conference. The theme of the 2017 conference was “A Global Charter for the Public’s Health”: Implications for Public Health Practice in South Africa.

In 2016, the PHASA conference considered public health practices in the context of the SDGs.  In 2017, the conference critically reflected on the WFPHA/WHO collaboration “A Global Charter for the Public’s Health” and its implications for public health in South Africa, by examining the four enabling functions of the Charter, viz. governance, capacity, information and advocacy. Delegates had conversations on how these four enabling functions could be strengthened in South Africa, and discussed critical current issues like globalisation and decolonisation in relation to public health.

The conference cover design was adapted from the logo of “A Global Charter for the Public’s Health”. It symbolised South Africa’s role in global public health and the influence of global public health on us.