Building Toward Kigali 2027: Two Health Webinars Lay the Groundwork for the Africa–Nordic Health Summit

In the lead-up to the Africa–Nordic Health Summit in Kigali in February 2027, two webinars have brought together partners from across Africa and the Nordics to explore investment opportunities, share experience, and build the foundations for a partnership model grounded in mutual accountability and shared priorities.

The Embassy of Rwanda to the Nordic Countries convened a dedicated session with Swecare and its members to explore Rwanda’s investment opportunities in the health sector and to advance conversations around the Summit. The session brought together Swedish health sector actors and Embassy representatives to examine how Nordic expertise and partnerships can contribute to Rwanda’s continued development of its health system, and to build momentum toward the Kigali 2027 gathering.

A second conversation, convened on 25 June 2026 by the Group of African Women Ambassadors to Sweden, brought Nordic and African partners together around two of the most pressing areas for Africa–Nordic collaboration: health and gender. The webinar was opened by the Dean of the African Women Ambassadors, H.E. Ambassador Dr. Diane Gashumba, who set out the potential for Nordic–Africa partnerships across the public sector, private sector, and academia, and by the Deputy Dean, H.E. Ambassador Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga of Zimbabwe, who framed the same question through a gender lens.

Ambassadors of Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana and Namibia shared valuable insights on how to make the summit a success, highlighting existing initiatives between the Nordic countries and their respective capitals in the health and gender sectors and proposing ways to enhance and reinforce these partnerships to maximize their impact.

Dr. Diana Nambatya Nsubuga from Africa CDC shared insights on health priorities across the continent. At the same time, BERT Finland presented on the frameworks that make Africa–Nordic partnerships successful and the urgency of acting now. On gender, Ms. Aimée Muziranenge, Regional Gender Specialist at UNDP’s Regional Service Centre for Africa, spoke to emerging trends in women’s political participation and leadership, and Ms. Mary Balikungeri, Executive Director of the Rwanda Women’s Community Development Network, presented on designing sustainable futures for women and girls — from risk to resilience.

Participants were challenged to consider: if given €1 million to invest jointly in one Africa–Nordic health or gender initiative, what would it focus on and who would they partner with? The exercise surfaced concrete priorities and potential collaborations, before Women Ambassadors shared their own reflections on the future of Africa–Nordic partnership in health and gender. 

Together, both webinars affirmed a principle that will be central to the Kigali Summit: lasting progress in women’s and children’s health depends on partnerships that are mutual, transparent, and anchored in national priorities. The Kigali edition of the Summit will build on these foundations, advancing a model of collaboration rooted in shared accountability and looking ahead to connecting Nordic partners with the work already underway across the continent.