In December 2024, IPD celebrated its centenary in Dakar, bringing together governments, industry and donors around a century of public health research in Africa. This milestone marks a turning point: IPD is moving from a monovaccine to a multivaccine manufacturer, from centralised labs to a decentralised surveillance and manufacturing network, and from a user of external technologies to a developer of its own innovations. Faced with rising epidemic risk and the imperative of African health sovereignty, the Forum provides a trusted space for dialogue and co-creation with IPD’s closest partners to accelerate this transformation.