The 11^th ECSA Best Practices Forum (BPF) and 27^th Directors Joint Consultative Committee (DJCC) were hosted by the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) and held in Arusha, Tanzania on June 26-28, 2018 under the theme, “Universal Health Coverage: Addressing the needs of the underserved.” The meetings brought together a diverse range of stakeholders from ECSA-HC Member States and beyond, including senior Ministry of Health officials, health experts, health researchers, and heads of health training institutions from Member States, along with representatives from UN agencies and other multi-lateral organizations, and diverse collaborating partners in the region and beyond.

The conference aimed to identify policy priorities and evidence to inform accelerated scale up of best practices in the ECSA region within the following themes:

1. Governance and Equity-oriented Policies for Urban Health
2. Linking Health Workforce Education to Labour Market Outcomes
3. Creating Sustainable Food Systems to Address Malnutrition
4. Innovative Approaches to Addressing Drug and Substance Abuse
5. Tackling Anti-microbial Resistance in the Region
6. Priority Setting and Health Benefits Packaging

In his welcoming remarks, Prof. Yoswa Dambisya, Director General of ECSA-HC, noted the importance of the conference theme, in that “without Universal Health Coverage, the region may not hit the mark” in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. He highlighted the need to focus on equity and reaching the underserved.

The two days of BPF presentations and discussion informed the Director’s Joint Consultative Committee agenda and recommendations. Please see the ECSA-HC website for updates on the final list of recommendations. Recommendations issued by the DJCC feed into the regional policy process and are considered as potential Resolutions by ECSA-HC’s highest governing body – the Health Ministers’ Conference.