With World Health Expo (WHX) 2026 in Johannesburg having come to a close, organisers are excited to announce what’s ahead for 2027:
An expanded event bringing pharma to the exhibition floor, a deeper focus on longevity and wellness, and the arrival of WHX Leaders Africa. The decision follows the strong policy, commercial and networking outcomes delivered at this year’s show, demonstrating the city’s ability to bring together healthcare leaders, innovators, investors and businesses from across South Africa and the wider African market.
The 2027 edition of WHX, which will take place from 2-4 November at the Gallagher Convention Centre, will introduce dedicated industry sectors for Pharma and Longevity & Wellness, responding to emerging opportunities in pharmaceutical development, healthcare access, health span and wellness. Together, these developments create more opportunities to connect, collaborate and do business across South Africa’s healthcare industry and beyond.
WHX Leaders Africa is an established leadership platform bringing an African perspective to the conversations and collaborations defining the future of healthcare across the continent. It will complement the broader WHX 2027 exhibition by creating space for policy dialogue, strategic discussions, investment conversations and high-level networking.
The announcement follows a strong showing for WHX 2026, which took place at Gallagher Convention Centre from 6–8 October. The event attracted 9,542 professional visitors and brought together 600+ exhibitors, proof of Johannesburg’s strength as a regional healthcare hub, combining commercial engagement with substantive discussion on capability, investment and the development of more connected healthcare systems. For exhibitors, the event offered direct access to healthcare professionals, hospital groups, distributors, manufacturers and potential partners from South Africa and other African markets.
“WHX provided an important opportunity for us to connect directly with the healthcare professionals and organisations we supply, from hospitals and medical practices in South Africa to customers from further afield,” said Estelle Coetzee, Akacia Medical (Pty) Ltd.
“As a South African manufacturer of sutures and medical products, being able to meet customers face-to-face gives us a better understanding of their needs and the requirements they are seeing on the ground. The event also brought different parts of the healthcare ecosystem together in one place, creating valuable opportunities for conversations around access to locally manufactured medical products and strengthening relationships across the sector,” she added.
Policy and commercial substance
The show’s opening ceremony brought together healthcare leaders from across the continent, including Dr Farouk Dako, Director of the Botswana-UPenn Partnership and Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania, Botswana; Dr Lynda Decker, President of the Western Private Sector Healthcare Federation in Ghana; Dr Dawit Moges, President of the Ethiopian Employers Federation and Secretary General of the Confederation of IGAD Employers; and Dr Nono Simelela, Advisor to South Africa’s Minister of Health.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the start of the three-day event, which concluded on 8 October, underscoring the importance of convening the sector in Johannesburg as African healthcare systems seek to strengthen local capability, improve access and attract investment.
“The 2026 edition of WHX reflects the importance of bringing the healthcare community together to share expertise, build relationships and identify practical responses to the priorities facing African healthcare,” said Tom Coleman, Portfolio Director – Healthcare, inD, organisers of WHX.
“Across the continent, there is a need to strengthen capability, expand access and make better use of innovation, investment and collaboration. WHX creates a meeting point for those conversations, connecting policymakers, healthcare providers, manufacturers, distributors and technology companies around the opportunities ahead,” he added.
These themes continued through the Leadership Indabas, where speakers addressed the role of diagnostics, collaboration and innovation in building stronger healthcare systems.
“South Africa has the expertise, laboratory networks and research capability to turn diagnostic innovation into meaningful patient access, but we cannot do it in isolation,” said Professor Wendy Stephens, Chief Executive Officer of the Wits Diagnostic Innovation Hub.
“The next step is strengthening collaboration between the public sector, academia, industry and regulators, while investing in the innovation needed to respond to Africa’s evolving healthcare priorities. If we get that partnership right, we can move beyond simply adopting technologies developed elsewhere and build, evaluate and scale solutions that respond directly to the needs of our population,” Stephens commented.
Prof Koleka Mlisana, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Laboratory Service, said innovation must translate into stronger access and healthcare systems.
“Innovation in laboratory medicine is moving at an extraordinary pace, but our focus must be on ensuring that innovation translates into better access and stronger healthcare systems across Africa,” Mlisana said.
Dr Manuel van Deventer, Chief Executive Officer of Lancet Laboratories, said greater collaboration could help make better use of existing resources.
“Improving access to diagnostics across Africa is not necessarily about building everything from scratch; it is about connecting the strengths, skills and infrastructure we already have more effectively,” van Deventer said.
“Public and private laboratories each bring different capabilities, and greater collaboration can help us use those resources more efficiently, expand access to testing and ultimately reduce the cost of healthcare. The opportunity now is to move beyond working in silos and build connected laboratory networks that put the patient at the centre,” van Deventer added.
Pharma and Longevity & Wellness industry sectors added for 2027
The 2027 edition of WHX will introduce dedicated Pharma and Longevity & Wellness industry sectors, reflecting the direction of travel in the regional healthcare market. Bringing together pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals, manufacturers, buyers and distributors to explore innovations spanning pharmaceuticals, preventative healthcare, healthy ageing and long-term wellbeing, the dedicated zones will provide a platform for businesses to showcase their products and expertise, forge strategic partnerships and unlock new commercial opportunities, while highlighting the solutions shaping the future of healthcare.
“Longevity is growing exponentially around the world, and while the conversation is still emerging in Africa, there is a tremendous opportunity to shape it from an Africa-first perspective,” said Gisele Wertheim Aymes, Managing Director of Longevity, who as speaking during WHX.
The new industry sectors will build on WHX’s existing focus on medical technology, diagnostics, hospital infrastructure and healthcare innovation, while creating dedicated platforms for sectors expected to play an increasingly important role in the region
For more information, please visit https://www.worldhealthexpo.com/events/healthcare/johannesburg/.
