The Gap in Women’s Health Is Growing.The Nordics Are Closing It.

Today, women in the Nordic region live up to 25 percent more years in poor health than men. Yet only 4 percent of global research funding goes to women’s health. Across 770 non-sex-specific conditions, women are on average diagnosed four years later than men. The numbers tell a clear story: We still know far too little about women’s biology.

This is not biology - this is a choice.

And that choice can - and must - be changed.

This is why Nordic Women’s Health Hub, as one of the partners, is presenting The Nordic Charter for Women’s Health 2040 – a collective Nordic effort to move beyond the status quo and shape a future where women’s health is no longer sidelined, but recognised as a foundation for stronger societies, healthier populations, and more resilient economies.

The Charter has been shaped through a broad Nordic collaboration involving more than 130 experts, organisations, and women with lived experience in systems built around male standards. It is published as an open commons document by the Women’s Health Vision 2040.org – with one purpose: to give the Nordic region a shared and ambitious direction for women’s health over the next 15 years.

The official launch will take place in Copenhagen on 8 December at an event co-hosted by Nordic Women’s Health Hub and partner organisations at the Embassy of Finland, where the Charter will be presented alongside the key perspectives, recommendations, and themes identified through the work.

If we want a healthier future, we must start by strengthening women’s health

This is why the Nordic region needs a shared vision that can align efforts, raise standards, and provide long-term direction. This is also the core message from the experts behind the Charter.

Sara Al-Dafaee, CEO and Co-founder of Nordic Women’s Health Hub, explains:

“Vision 2040 has been developed as a shared Nordic framework, enabling many different actors to move in the same direction over time. The ambition is to build stronger alignment between knowledge, practice and political priorities within the field of women’s health.”

A choice between two futures

The Charter is a Nordic mandate for action.

It is not another report destined to gather dust.

It is a framework for turning vision into action – a collective invitation to elevate women’s health across sectors and borders.

It is about raising the bar for women’s health across the region

Investing in research that takes women’s biology seriously, so real innovation can finally follow.

Modernising health systems so women are met with knowledge, not assumptions.

And ensuring that the next generation grows up with a health system that is more preventive, more equitable, and more resilient than the one we know today.

To show what is at stake, the Charter introduces Nora - a fictional 15-year-old in 2040. Through her, the contrast becomes clear:

A Nordic region where women’s health depends on chance.

Or one where health is a given - not a privilege.