The road to the African–Nordic Health Summit 2027 in Kigali continued with a high-level webinar bringing together African and Nordic perspectives on strengthening partnerships for health and gender equality.

Moderated by Ambassador Dr Diane Gashumba, Dean of the Group of African Women Ambassadors to Sweden, the webinar featured Professor Tobias Alfvén of Karolinska Institutet, Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, President-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), and Mary Balikungeri, Founder and Director of Rwanda Women’s Network.

Discussions focused on how Africa–Nordic cooperation can move beyond dialogue towards concrete, sustainable partnerships that improve health outcomes for women, children and adolescents.

Professor Alfvén highlighted opportunities to strengthen research, health systems and mutually beneficial partnerships between African and Nordic institutions. Dr Shinkafi-Bagudu focused on cancer prevention and control, including accelerating progress towards cervical cancer elimination, while Mary Balikungeri shared lessons from Rwanda Women’s Network’s community-led work and its Women Safe Space Model.

A key theme throughout the webinar was the need to strengthen collaboration between governments, academia, civil society, the private sector and development partners, while ensuring that locally led solutions are adequately supported and scaled.

The webinar forms part of the Road to Kigali series ahead of the African–Nordic Health Summit 2027, taking place in Kigali on 9–10 February 2027. Building on the inaugural Summit in Stockholm in January 2026, the Kigali Summit will focus on turning Africa–Nordic relationships into practical partnerships, commitments and action.