K.I.T. Group – African Agenda, an IAPCO member, successfully delivered the 9th Infection Control Africa Network (ICAN) Congress, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 29 June to 2 July 2025. This marked the first in-person ICAN Congress since 2018 and the first time ICAN partnered with K.I.T. Group – African Agenda.
The four-day event brought together 260 delegates from 32 countries, including doctors, nurses, microbiologists, environmental healthcare practitioners, and engineers, representing both the clinical and practical sides of infection control. With three concurrent programme streams, hands-on workshops, and expert-led sessions, ICAN25 provided a platform for advancing infection prevention and control across Africa and beyond.
Challenge
While the scientific and educational vision for ICAN25 was strong, several challenges emerged during planning and delivery:
-
Post-pandemic rebuild: ICAN25 was the first in-person delivery of this event since 2018, requiring renewed engagement with sponsors, exhibitors, and delegates.
-
Funding cuts: Reduced USAID funding affected the budgets of key NGOs, research groups, and health organisations, who rely on these grants to support their programmes. This resulted in fewer delegates being able to travel to the Congress, and some sponsors had to withdraw or scale back their involvement.
-
First-time partnership: As this was K.I.T. Group – African Agenda’s first time working with ICAN, establishing trust, alignment, and shared operational frameworks was essential.
-
Budget pressure: With reduced sponsorship income, the team had to strategically revise financial models and manage expectations while maintaining high delivery standards.
Solution
Drawing on regional expertise and extensive global congress management experience, K.I.T. Group – African Agenda worked closely with ICAN to ensure a seamless and impactful event experience.
Key actions by K.I.T. Group – African Agenda included:
-
Strategic planning: Supported ICAN in evaluating destination and venue options in 2024 and worked with the South African National Convention Bureau (SANCB) to secure financial and logistical backing to keep the event in South Africa.
-
Programme excellence: Collaborated with the ICAN Scientific Committee to develop a three-stream programme that balanced research insights with real-world impact, delivered via a strong lineup of expert speakers and practical workshops and panel sessions. Under the theme “Advancing Infection Prevention Control (IPC) and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) for a Safer Tomorrow,” the Congress highlighted African and international research and scientific achievements.
-
Stakeholder engagement: Maintained close communication with sponsors, exhibitors, and partners to ensure consistent engagement despite funding challenges.
-
Operational delivery: Oversaw all logistics including registration, speaker management, AV production, trade exhibition, catering, and poster coordination, ensuring a professional on-site experience.
-
Community and collaboration: Leveraged K.I.T. Group – African Agenda’s deep conference marketing skills combined with a high-quality membership database to attract international participation. 47% of delegates attended from outside South Africa, representing 32 inbound countries, led by Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Outcome
Despite financial and logistical challenges, ICAN25 was widely regarded as one of ICAN’s most impactful congresses to date.
-
Engagement and reach: 260 delegates from 32 countries attended, promoting international collaboration on infection prevention and control (IPC).
-
Scientific excellence: Delivered sessions and practical workshops that strengthened IPC implementation across health systems.
-
Pre-congress engagement: Four interactive pre-congress workshops, developed in partnership with leading global organisations, provided practical tools on emerging IPC challenges.
-
Research exchange: Four breakfast symposia, two lunchtime sessions, and dedicated oral and poster presentations gave young investigators and scientists opportunities to share their research alongside international and regional faculty.
-
Global representation: Half of the attendees were from outside the host country, reflecting ICAN’s growing influence.
-
Exhibition success: 14 exhibitors and 12 sponsors highlighted products and innovations, generating strong networking and industry engagement, despite reduced funding.
-
Legacy: Reinforced ICAN’s mission to strengthen infection control capacity across Africa through education, collaboration, and community building.
With strategic planning, collaboration, and creativity at its core, K.I.T. Group – African Agenda transformed challenges into opportunities to deliver ICAN25; a key platform to advance knowledge and healthcare implementation, build community, and inspire future progress in infection control.
