The Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) is set to host its 28th Annual Conference at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra from Sunday, August 23 to 27, 2026, bringing together medical regulators and healthcare stakeholders from across Africa and beyond.

🇬🇭 Here's What Happened

Speaking on JoyFM's Super Morning Show on Thursday, August 20, Registrar for the Medical and Dental Council, Dr Divine Ndonbi Banyubala, explained that AMCOA brings together medical regulatory authorities across the continent to strengthen the regulation of doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals.

He said the association’s work focuses on ensuring that healthcare professionals are properly trained, registered and licensed, possess the required competencies, and uphold ethical standards while remaining accountable to patients.

The conference is being held under the theme “Regulation for Safer Communities Towards Universal Health Coverage.”

📌 Key Details

According to Dr Banyubala, effective healthcare regulation is critical to achieving universal health coverage because access to healthcare alone is not enough.

“People must have access, but also access to basic quality and safe healthcare,” he said, stressing that expanding access without guaranteeing quality and patient safety would have limited value.

He explained that regulators play a critical role in setting educational and professional standards, determining who can enter the healthcare profession, monitoring professional conduct and establishing mechanisms to hold practitioners accountable.

The conference will also focus on the increasing movement of healthcare professionals across African countries and beyond.

A key area of discussion will be the African Healthcare Practitioner Regulatory Policy Outlook, which examines how regulatory systems can respond to the mobility of healthcare workers while protecting patients.

Dr Banyubala said professional mobility is not inherently a problem but must be properly managed to ensure that practitioners who cross borders meet appropriate regulatory requirements.

📰 Source: Joy Online Ghana