BHF 2025 Conference to spotlight the future of universal health coverage in Southern Africa
As Southern Africa’s healthcare systems face mounting pressures from policy uncertainty, growing inequalities, and economic constraints, the 2025 Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) Conference will convene the region’s foremost healthcare leaders, policymakers, clinicians, and innovators to chart a more sustainable, equitable path forward.
Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) Act, which is facing mounting legal challenges, ongoing debates over healthcare reform, and the slow progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) in the region, the BHF Conference provides a vital platform for dialogue, debate, and real-world problem-solving. Themed “Collaborating for Value: Partnerships Transforming the Future of Healthcare – Uniting Parallels,” the four-day event will explore how multi-sectoral partnerships, innovative financing, and bold leadership can reshape South Africa and the broader region’s healthcare for the better, so no one is left behind.
Held from 11–14 May 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the event is open to the media and offers an unparalleled opportunity to report on regional healthcare reform and the future of health equity.
Conference highlights include:
Opening Ceremony | 11 May 2025
Theme: Unlocking Transformational Impact Through Partnerships: This headline event will explore the role of national leadership and economic policy in enabling system-wide transformation in healthcare.
Key Speakers: Opening address by Neo Khauoe (BHF Chairperson & Principal Officer – Polmed); Dr. Pali Lehohla (Board Member – Institute for Economic Justice and former Statistician General) on “The Grand Experiment: Lessons from the GNU for Healthcare”; and Professor Bonang Mohale (Chancellor – University of the Free State and WEF Chairpersons’ Community member) on “Uniting Parallels – Bridging Divides to Transform Healthcare”.
Plenary Sessions | 12 to 14 May 2025
Each day will feature topical and newsworthy plenaries tackling Southern Africa’s most urgent health challenges including:
- 12 May |Rethinking Partnerships and Universal Coverage
Plenary Session 1 -Theme: Healthcare Partnerships: Game-Changer or a Fad?
Overview: As health systems across Africa pivot toward UHC this session questions whether existing partnerships are transformative or merely cosmetic. The panel will assess the impact of donor dependency, explore innovations in value-based care, and spotlight the shifting role of funders in system reform, which are critical themes in the context of recent donor funding shifts including the PEPFAR funding freeze and mounting pressure on local systems.
Notable Speakers: Dr Katlego Mothudi (Managing Director – BHF); Precious Matsoso (WHO – Pandemic Convention co-chair and Adjunct Professor at Sunway University); Christopher Watney (CEO – iFHP UK); Andrew Donaldson (Senior Research Associate -SALDRU, UCT and former DDG of National Treasury); and Dr Petrus Jacobus Viviers (Pulmonologist).
Plenary Session 2 – Theme: Pathways to UHC: Comparative Lessons and Contextual Solutions
Overview: As South Africa debates the future of its NHI, this session offers comparative insights from countries already implementing forms of UHC. With an emphasis on practical, adaptable models, this panel explores what works globally and how regional peers like Ghana and Rwanda are achieving results that South Africa can learn from.
Notable Speakers: Jonty Roland (Associate Director – Aceso Global USA); Carsten Schubert (Director – Transnova); Khulekani Mathe (CEO – BUSA); Dr Simon Strachan (CEO -SAPPF); and Charlton Murove (Head of Research – BHF).
- 13 May | Financing the Future of Health
Plenary Session – Theme: Investing in the Health Value Chain: Catalysts for Scalable and Sustainable Delivery
Overview: This session will take a hard look at what it will take to attract long-term investment into African healthcare from infrastructure and workforce to digital innovation. As health budgets tighten, the conversation will shift to private capital, PPPs, and the metrics investors want to see. This is a must-cover session for journalists tracking health economics, fiscal policy, and PPP innovation.
Notable Speakers: Arun Kumar (Principal Investment Officer – African Development Bank); Federico Leo (Global Sector Lead – IFC World Bank Group); Dr Dumani Kula (CEO – Busamed); and Huguette Diakabana (AI and Digital Health Advisor and former Co-Chair of WHO Digital Health Technical Advisor Group – Switzerland).
- 14 May | Regulation, Reform and the Road to Equity
Plenary Session – Theme: Creating an Enabling Environment for Transformational Health Partnerships
Overview: This session will unpack the regulatory roadblocks stalling UHC, including legal uncertainty around South Africa’s NHI Act, the stagnation of low-cost benefit options, and regulatory gaps hampering innovation. As stakeholders clash over legal interpretations, this panel explores how to build policy frameworks that support equity, solidarity, and access.
Notable Speakers: Christoff Raath (Joint CEO – Insight Actuaries & Consultants); Helen Michael (Director -Werksmans Attorneys) and Siphosakhe Phakathi (Senior Associate – Werksmans Attorneys); Misha van Niekerk (Senior Associates -Adams & Adams); and legal teams representing BHF, SAMA, and SAPPF discussing legal challenges related to the NHI Act.
For full details on the schedule and speaker line-up, please refer to the attached 2025 Conference Programme.
Media Accreditation:
The BHF 2025 Conference will offer media unparalleled access to healthcare leaders, policy influencers, and innovators shaping the future of health in Southern Africa. With key debates taking place on NHI, UHC, health financing, and system reform, this is a key opportunity to engage on the region’s most pressing health issues.
Media interested in attending the opening session and plenaries need to apply for accreditation before Thursday, 8 May 2025 by contacting:
Tracè Venter
072 617 4798
media@ockhamcommunications.com
OR
Bianca Capazorio
072 372 7044