Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State will host the Maiden National Conference on Climate Change Resilience and Infectious Disease Mitigation.
The conference, scheduled to take place from April 13–17, 2026, will mark a landmark moment in Nigeria’s scientific and public health landscape.
The centrepiece of the event will be a Professorial Inaugural Lecture titled “Journey Through the Invisible: Decoding the Nexus Between Climate Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases in a Warming World”, to be delivered by Professor Joseph Omololu-Aso, Director-General of the CPM International Research Institute for Climate Health and Professor of Infectious Disease & Climate Change Intervention at OAU.
Speaking on why the conference mattered, Professor Omololu-Aso noted that climate change is reshaping the global burden of infectious diseases.
“Rising temperatures, environmental disruption, and air pollution are accelerating pathogen transmission, antimicrobial resistance, and the emergence of new health threats.
“Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is particularly vulnerable to climate-sensitive diseases, making this conference a critical platform for scientific dialogue and policy engagement” he noted.
The conference will unveil plans for a National Centre of Excellence on Climate-Sensitive Infectious Diseases, Pathogenomics, Antimicrobial Resistance and One Health Innovation.
This consortium will link Nigerian institutions with global scientific networks to advance research in: Climate-sensitive infectious diseases, pathogen genomics and surveillance, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), environmental health monitoring and International and National Engagement.
The initiative has already attracted global partnerships with organizations such as the Belmont Forum, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, Philipps University Marburg, and the Wellcome Trust.
International experts including Nicole Arbour, Anna Stewart-Ibarra, and Harald Renz have contributed to the scientific dialogue.
National stakeholders expected at the one-of-a-kind event include the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), as well as policymakers, academic institutions, and public health experts.
This conference represents a pivotal step in Nigeria’s effort to integrate climate science, pathogen genomics, and public health surveillance, ensuring preparedness against the growing threat of infectious diseases in a warming world.
The event will also introduce the proposed National Centre of Excellence for Climate Sensitive Infectious Diseases, Pathogenomics, Antimicrobial Resistance and One Health Innovation, coordinated through the CPM International Research Institute for Climate Health.
“Climate change is altering the ecology of infectious diseases in ways that demand urgent scientific attention. Understanding these changes will be critical for protecting the health of populations across Africa in the decades ahead” he added.
