It is our pleasure to announce that the Seventh EMPHNET Regional Conference will be held under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al-Hussein. The Conference will take place in Amman, Jordan between September 27 and 30, 2020, and its theme will be “Public Health Solutions for Sustainable Development.”

The conference opening will be held on the evening of September 27, following a day of pre-conference workshops and proceeding a three-day agenda filled with valuable opportunities for knowledge exchange and personal growth.

Within this theme, the conference sessions will provide a platform through which EMPHNET will be renewing its commitment to supporting countries in the region towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After all, Health is central to all aspects of life, thus it is one of the main pillars shaping Sustainable Development. Not only is health embedded in the SDGs under Goal 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,” but it is also associated with sanitation, gender rights, environmental health, education, nutrition, economic growth, and other areas.

With EMPHNET mandated to contribute to “better health for people in the EMR”, its conference sessions will provide valuable opportunities for knowledge exchange and the exploration of means to realizing health-related SDGs for the people of the region. A wide range of topics will be dedicated to examining innovative solutions that can be implemented among multi-sector and multi-national partners to realize health-related SDGs and targets. From another angle, the conference will also offer a platform to showcase the scientifically grounded work of Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) residents and graduates, as well as other public health professionals who have chosen to share their achievements, research findings, field investigations and other approaches within a wide participation base.

More specifically, the conference will be achieving the following objectives:

• Engage public health experts and national, regional, and international entities in a discussion of public health challenges and their contribution to the SDGs.
• Facilitate experience exchange and knowledge sharing among public health professionals and entities to encourage regional coordination.
• Analyze, demonstrate, and share local, regional and global public health lessons and expertise.
• Assess efficiency in the translation of evidence-based science into action.
• Present the accomplishments of public health professionals from the region.

Within these objectives, the conference presents an agenda that includes keynote addresses, panel discussions, mini-symposiums, oral and poster presentations, roundtable meetings, and pre-conference workshops.

Abstract submissions will be open through the Conference website on the day of its launch: February 14, 2020.

In closing, we gratefully acknowledge the continuous engagement of all countries in the EMR as well as the support and commitment of our partners in making this conference a true beacon of success.

We look forward to seeing you in Amman next September.