The 18th annual Otago Global Health Institute conference runs 24-25 November 2026 at the Otago Business School in Dunedin, convened by the University of Otago on how information shapes health outcomes.
The Otago Global Health Institute (OGHI) conference returns for its 18th edition on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November 2026, hosted at the Otago Business School on the University of Otago's Dunedin campus. According to the conference website, the 2026 gathering examines how information shapes health outcomes, taking in misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in global health.
The conference is convened by the Otago Global Health Institute at the University of Otago. OGHI notes that it achieved flagship Research Centre status at the university in 2016 and is led by a Leadership Group drawn from across its four academic divisions - Commerce, Health Sciences, Humanities and Sciences. The institute describes its mission as addressing the world's most pressing health problems through collaborations with low- and middle-income countries and disadvantaged communities within New Zealand, working within mātauranga Māori principles. The annual November conference and its signature McAuley Oration are among the institute's core public activities.
The organisers frame the event for researchers, practitioners and advocates working, researching or exploring the global health field. The 2026 keynote line-up announced on the conference site features Professor Rovina Ruslami of the Biomedical Science faculty at Universitas Padjadjaran in Indonesia, and Associate Professor Esther Willing of the Kōhatu Centre for Hauora Māori at the University of Otago. The accompanying McAuley Oration - a free public lecture held alongside the conference - will be delivered by Chris Paton, Associate Professor in Health AI at the University of Auckland, on "AI for global health: opportunities, risks, and future developments".
The confirmed venue is the Otago Business School on Union Street East, part of the University of Otago's central Dunedin campus - the same campus setting used for the 2025 edition. The campus sits within walking distance of central-city Dunedin, where the city's main accommodation and hospitality are concentrated, keeping delegate movement between lodging and sessions short. Dunedin is served by Dunedin Airport, roughly 30 km south of the city centre, with domestic connections to the main New Zealand hubs. As a university-hosted congress with named international and national keynotes, the event draws a mix of academic, clinical and community-sector attendees into the city.
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