Join the Health Bridge Seminar on Health Diplomacy (21 April 2026)

The seminar is organized by the Health Bridge team, a collaboration project between Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, Bogomolets National Medical University, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences, Ukraine and the University of Latvia. The project aims to contribute to a healthier, safer region by strengthening collaboration and building a health diplomacy network between the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe. Website: https://globalhealthdiplomacy.se/health-bridge

During the seminar, experts in health diplomacy will introduce the concept and discuss its relevance in the current geopolitical context, particularly for the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe, and with a focus on the situation in Ukraine. 

Anders Nordström will open with an introduction to health diplomacy. Dr. Nordström has had a distinguished career in global health, having served as Sweden's Ambassador for Global Health—the world's first such title—and as Acting Director-General of the WHO. He played a key role in establishing the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and has also served as Director-General of Sida. He currently leads the Partnership for International Politics and Diplomacy for Health at the Stockholm School of Economics and Karolinska Institutet.

Michel Kazatchkine will address the health diplomacy landscape in Eastern Europe. Prof. Kazatchkine is a physician, researcher, administrator, and diplomat with over 35 years of experience in global health. He served as Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and subsequently as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia — a role that placed him at the centre of the region's most pressing health challenges. He is Emeritus Professor of Immunology at René Descartes University in Paris, a Senior Fellow at the Global Health Centre of the Graduate Institute in Geneva, and a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

Olesya Hulchiy will focus on the situation in Ukraine. Prof. Hulchiy is a leading Ukrainian expert in public health and health policy with more than three decades of experience in medical education and international academic cooperation. She has represented Ukraine in the Standing Committee of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe and served on the Ukrainian delegation to the Council of Europe Committee of Bioethics. For 19 years, she has collaborated closely with Karolinska Institutet, coordinating international research and training initiatives.

Ingrīda Rumba-Rozenfelde and Sanita Oklu will share the information about medical education in Latvia. 

Prof. Rumba-Rozenfelde is a Latvian physician and scientist, serving as a Professor at the University of Latvia. She is a leading expert in pediatric rheumatology and has significantly shaped medical education in Latvia as a long-standing Dean. Her research focuses on paediatric chronic and autoimmune diseases, such as Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and diabetes, as well as medical education. She is involved in international collaboration through the PRINTO network and currently studies pediatric obesity and quality of life in children.

Sanita Oklu, Master of Health Sciences and Master of Pedagogy. Professional education expert, lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences of the University of Latvia. Will address issues affecting the situation in Latvia, in the education of healthcare professionals.

The seminar will be held in English and will be hybrid, with the option to join in person or online. A detailed agenda and the Zoom link will be shared with registered participants ahead of the event.

Please register for the event using the following link: Registration for a seminar on Health Diplomacy – Fill in form

We hope you will be able to join us for this important discussion.

Join online:
https://ki-se.zoom.us/j/61160562607?pwd=7XXao97brPAc1AbSqLUb2Wd8qbISdK.1
Meeting ID: 611 6056 2607
Passcode: 957448