Vision
The Nordic Charter for Women's Health 2040
"By 2040, every woman in the Nordics lives in a society where health is a birthright, not a benefit, anticipated, equitable, and seamlessly woven into everyday life."
At the Danish Parliament, on September 8, 2025, 136 voices gathered to imagine a shared Vision for Nordic Women's Health 2040. There are already visions for women's health out there, yet few that dare to set the bar high enough to ensure a sound and equal society for the generations to come. This vision began as a question: What would the most optimal state for women's health look like if we were unbound by present bias? A vision owned by everyone for when we all push for systemic change, we move closer to lasting health and equality for all - for our daughters and granddaughters.
Launch event co-hosted by The Nordic Council of Ministers
The Nordic Charter for Women's Health 2040
The outcome of this collective work is published as Open Commons in The Nordic Charter for Women's Health 2040. It is a bold, cross-Nordic movement to co-create the future of women's health. Rooted in the region's strengths, trust, innovation, and collaborative governance, we move beyond diagnosis and treatment to prevention through systemic transformation.
This is not a wishlist. It's a shared framework for transformation, guiding policy, investment, research, and innovation across borders.
The Nordic Council of Ministers, co-hosted together with, The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, The Nordic Women's Health Hub, and The Women's Health Hub in Finland (Business Turku), the launch of The Nordic Charter for Women's Health 2040, at The Embassy of Finland in Denmark on Dec. 8 2025.
Featured in The Lancet
A newly published The Lancet article on The Vision for Women's Health 2040 underscores what many of us have long argued: that women's health has been structurally undervalued and must be reimagined across the full life course. The article calls for a shift from fragmented, reproductive-centric models toward prevention, equity, and systems designed around women's biology, lived experience, and societal roles — reinforcing the urgency of long-term, cross-sector action to close persistent health gaps.
...and in Nordic Life Science
5 Missions
We're not asking for better health standards for women - we're designing them.
1. Equitable Research
What if Nordic health research by 2040 systematically accounted for biological and social differences across populations?
2. Women
Centred Care
What if by 2040, Nordic healthcare had transformed into an experience where women truly feel seen, heard, and validated?
3. Innovative Governance
What if we implemented comprehensive women's health policies ensuring preventive care access life stages?
4. Innovative Ecosystems
What if every innovative founder had an equal opportunity to bring their best women's health solutions to life?
5. Health Literacy & Awareness
What if we could create a culture where women's health becomes fully normalised, across every life stage?
Strategic Partners
An independent, non-profit think tank established in 1969. By applying a unique approach to futures studies and foresight, combined with more than 50 years of global experience CIFS helps create a society fit to meet the challenges and grasp the opportunities we face.
The red thread in the Nordics connecting stakeholders to accelerate innovation & market maturity in Women's Health. We unite researchers, investors, clinicians, and innovators to close the gender health gap.
Strategic Foresight Tools
Strategic foresight is a structured way of exploring and preparing for the future. It helps organisations identify emerging trends, uncertainties, and potential disruptions, not to predict what will happen, but to explore what could happen, asking questions such as "What if?"
Envisioning starts by creating a vivid, detailed picture of a preferred future, describing what success looks like without being constrained by current limitations. It focuses on 'where we want to go'.
Backcasting works backwards from that envisioned future, identifying the key milestones, decisions, and actions needed to get there. It maps the path in reverse, from the future to the present, highlighting gaps and strategic priorities.
Nordic Health 2030
The Vision for Nordic Women's Health 2040 builds on existing research done by The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.
The Nordic Health 2030 initiative is a call to action, recognising that health is foundational to societal progress. We invite you to join this initiative, with its clear-eyed focus on an actionable data-driven technological path forward. It is a blueprint for a future where health systems are humane, personalised and inclusive, with dignity running deep at its core.