Prof. Dr. Bülent KILIÇ
Congress Chair
Valuable Colleagues, Dear Participants,
We are greatly honored and very excited to organize the Public Health Congress, which is one of the most well-established and comprehensive scientific meetings of Türkiye in the field of public health, this year around the main theme “Resilient Systems, Healthy Community”. In an era of ever more exacerbated global health crises, environmental threats, epidemics and social inequalities, the basic principles of public health are guiding us more than ever, with an increased understanding of the importance of public health practices. By taking into account such perspectives of public health as social modalities, preventive medicine, holistic view of the health system and regional health management, at this year’s congress we will discuss ways to build a healthy community and enhance the resilience of our systems and what strategies exist to bolster social resilience.
In the face of emergent public health phenomena such as the climate crisis, epidemics and earthquakes, the resilience of societies and health systems have become of vital importance. One of the most important lessons we have learnt with the COVID-19 pandemic is that a country’s health system should not only react to crises, but also needs to be well prepared in advance and demonstrate flexibility and continuity at all levels, thus leading to resilience. With that in mind, topics such as the role of the health system in times of crisis, scientific and social health management and building resilient social structures will be covered in depth at our congress. Moreover, considering the rapid global changes experienced in our day and time, we plan to hold a congress which is open to all scientific advances, particularly digitalization in public health, artificial intelligence applications and precision medicine practices.
Immunization, which is one of the indispensable priorities of preventive health services, continues to be among the most current fronts in the struggle for public health today. As vaccine hesitancy stands to be an issue threatening not only the immunity of the individual but of the society at large both in Türkiye and throughout the world, it has become the joint responsibility of health professionals and policy makers to reduce this hesitancy with communication strategies based on scientific knowledge. At our congress, new approaches to strengthening immunization services, studies concerning newly developed vaccines, risk communication methods and field experience will be discussed with a broad perspective. Similarly, tobacco addiction continues to be one of the main causes of preventable diseases and deaths. Our congress will also open up for discussion the current scientific data and effective practices in areas such as tobacco control policies and advocacy activities.
Esteemed Public Health Specialists,
The fact that our congress advances with each passing year with an ever increasing number of young specialists and successful application examples from the field bolsters our hope as well. At the opening of this year’s congress, we will also have the first screening of a documentary about the establishment of public health in Türkiye. We wish our congress to crown this story of public health spanning nearly 70 years starting from 1958 when public health specialty education was commenced for the first time in our country. In addition, we will have very important Board meetings at our congress as well, such as the elections for HASUDER Executive and Disciplinary Board (for a 2-year term) and the Public Health Competence Board (for a 4-year term). We call on all our members to exercise their right to elect and be elected by participating in our congress and plenary sessions.
Our congress serves not only as a scientific event but also as an expression of solidarity, common mind and a hopeful future. We are of the conviction that scientific knowledge and experience exchange and the power of co-production will enable us to contribute to a healthier future. With our most sincere feelings, we kindly invite you hereby to contribute to this process with your ideas, works and presence. Everyone who has set their mind and heart on public health is expected at the 9th International and 27th National Public Health Congress which will be held in Antalya on the dates of 10-13 December 2025. We extend our deepest respects with the hope of standing together in this rich scientific environment made possible by our congress consisting of conferences, panels, paper presentations, group work and various courses, to discuss our issues and solution proposals and to share our studies and experience.
Together, we can create more resilient systems and a healthier community!
Kindest regards,
Prof. Dr. Bülent KILIÇ
Congress Chair
