Benin to host ICASA 2027

The Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) has announced that Benin has been selected as the host country for the 24th edition of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), which will take place from December 5th to 9th, 2027, at the ‘Palais des Congrès,' Cotonou.

This prestigious event will convene global leaders, community researchers, advocates, and healthcare professionals to further the continent's fight against HIV/AIDS, STIs, Hepatitis, Malaria, TB, and emerging viral infections and to strengthen Africa’s health systems.

Mr. Luc Armand Bodea, ICASA Director and SAA Coordinator, in a statement copied to CDA Consult in Accra on Wednesday, explained that ICASA has become a landmark event, bringing together thousands of delegates from across the globe to share insights, research, and strategies to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic and emerging viral diseases on the African continent.

He said ICASA 2027 in Cotonou will be a pivotal moment in advancing Africa's health systems towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the global goal of ending new HIV infections by 2030 and advancing the AU Agenda 2063.

“The Society for AIDS in Africa extends its deepest gratitude to the government of Benin for its unwavering support and commitment to hosting this important event. ICASA 2027 promises to build on the successes of previous editions and further mobilize Africa and the international community in the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030,” Mr. Bodea stated.

Mr. Bodea stressed that preparations for ICASA 2027 are already underway, and “we invite stakeholders, donors, and the global health community to stay updated on the latest developments.

“The first international steering committee meeting of ICASA 2027 will be held from 23rd to 24th November 2026 at Golden Tulip Cotonou, Benin.”

He said Benin’s selection marks its first time hosting the conference, adding that the choice of Benin as the ICASA 2027 host country is a statement of the country’s leadership through the former president and the current elected president of the Republic of Benin, H. E. Romuald Wadagni.

The SAA Coordinator said the selection process was highly competitive, with Benin’s bid emerging as successful.

Over 3,169 participants from 87 countries attended ICASA 2025 in Accra, Ghana.

The Society for AIDS in Africa was founded in 1989 at the Fourth International Symposium on AIDS and Associated Cancers in Africa (now ICASA) held in Marseille, France, by a group of African scientists, activists, and advocates in response to the HIV epidemic.

The establishment of the society was the result of the agitations of some African scientists for the conference to be organized on African soil.

These agitations began in the preceding year at the end of the third meeting held in Arusha, Tanzania, in 1988. The cause of these scientists was supported by the WHO director at the time, Dr. Peter Piot.

At the 1990 conference held in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an executive committee was inaugurated to oversee the establishment of the society and to coordinate subsequent International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) conferences.

The society was officially registered in Nairobi, Kenya, with a functional secretariat in Nigeria. The permanent secretariat of the Society for AIDS in Africa was established in 2009 in Accra, Ghana. For more information on SAA, please visit www.saafrica.org.

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