Tuesday 18 March and Wednesday 19 March, 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a cornerstone for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 on health and wellbeing.
By ensuring that all individuals can access essential health services without financial hardship, UHC drives health equity, reduces poverty, and fosters sustainable development. Prioritising inclusivity and addressing systemic health inequities are essential for achieving these transformative outcomes.
We had over 350 attendees.
From across 60 organisations.
Featuring over 90 speakers
From over 20 countries.
Watch our highlights video
View the RHCP25 photo gallery
Check out the photos from our Regional Health Promotion Conference 2025.
Why this conference
The Regional Health Promotion Conference 2025 is a transformative initiative designed to reimagine Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the lens of intersectionality. While UHC aspires to ensure health access for all, significant barriers persist for marginalised groups, including women, children, persons with disabilities, and indigenous communities.
These barriers are often rooted in intersecting vulnerabilities such as socio-economic inequities, gender-based discrimination, and systemic exclusion. This conference is a vital platform to address these challenges and deliver on the promise of "leaving no one behind" by embedding equity and inclusivity into health systems.
By focusing on innovative, intersectional approaches, the conference empowers participants to identify and dismantle systemic barriers while fostering health services that are accessible, acceptable, affordable, and of high quality for everyone.
Through expert-led sessions, case studies, and collaborative discussions, it aims to ensure that health systems are responsive to the unique and intersecting needs of all individuals, particularly those most often excluded. This is not just an event—it is a movement to champion health equity and advance UHC for every person, everywhere.
Download the conference communique (PDF,8.3MB)
Read the key resolutions and actions of the Regional Health Promotion Conference.
Participants: 300+ stakeholders from Kenya, East Africa and beyond, including policymakers, community health workers, academia, donors, private sector representatives, UN agencies, and government officials.
The conference provided ensure oral and sign language interpretation, inclusive facilities, and dedicated support for persons with disabilities.
Learn more
Speakers and guests at RHPC25
Meet our speakers and guests of honour.
Agenda: RHPC25
Get a day-by-day breakdown of what to expect at the Regional Health Promotion Conference taking place on the 18 and 19 March.
Conference sub-themes and panels
Learn more about the subthemes of the 2025 Regional Health Promotion Conference and what events to expect.
Who does the conference target?
This conference brings together diverse changemakers committed to advancing inclusive and equitable UHC through intersectionality. It targets health promotion professionals, policymakers, researchers, educators, youth champions and civil society leaders working to address the social determinants of health and break down intersecting barriers to care.
Participants include representatives from national and county governments, community health workers, grassroots volunteers, private sector innovators, and development partners from across Kenya, East Africa, and beyond.
By convening voices from all sectors and perspectives, the conference fosters a shared commitment to ensuring no one is left behind.
Whether you are a policymaker shaping equitable health strategies, a community leader advocating for marginalised populations, or a practitioner integrating intersectionality into service delivery, this conference is your platform to collaborate, innovate, and drive transformative change in health systems.
Stories from our intersectionality work
In photos: Our Regional Health Promotion Conference 2025
Check out some of our favourite photos from Regional Health Promotion Conference (RHPC25). This event sought to reimagine Universal Health Coverage through the lens of intersectionality.
Using intersectionality to create healthy beginnings and hopeful futures
World Health Day brings global attention to the urgent need to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths. Learn more about how our Regional Health Promotion Conference is tackling these issues head on.
Highlights from the Regional Health Promotion Conference 2025
The Regional Health Promotion Conference 2025 reimagined Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the lens of intersectionality, by bringing together experts from across East Africa and beyond.
Breaking barriers: Transforming social norms to empower adolescent girls in Nepal
Sexual and reproductive health is not just about physical well-being; it’s about dignity, autonomy, and the right to shape one’s future. In Nepal, the pressure for young girls to conform to traditional roles remains present, but how can programme design challenge these norms?
The impact of climate change on sexual and reproductive health and rights
As communities worldwide grapple with the challenges posed by environmental changes, health systems must adapt to ensure inclusivity, equity, and resilience in healthcare delivery.
Tackling sexual health stigma for Rwanda's young mothers
In Rwanda, 2023 saw over 22,000 teenage pregnancies nationwide, alongside a concerning rise in HIV/AIDS cases among young people. VSO's Safe Space is a community gathering platform, where young people from neighbouring villages meet on a weekly basis.
Goals and objectives
Goal: The conference aims to boost UHC using an intersectional approach that leaves no one behind, promoting inclusive health strategies across the country.
Objectives
1. Facilitate knowledge exchange on intersectionality and innovative tools to address health inequities by leveraging community engagement strategies.
2. Elevate the role of intersectionality in health promotion within UHC and secure resources needed to raise awareness and encourage the adoption of intersectional approaches to improve inclusive specialised services, access, and health outcomes.
3. Strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration and stakeholder engagement, complementing partnerships to ensure equitable and inclusive UHC is well-understood, trusted, and accessible at all levels.
4. Promote the integration of intersectionality into UHC policies, guidelines, and health promotion strategies at national and subnational levels.
Co-hosts
The Ministry of Health Kenya
The Ministry of Health Kenya leads the country’s UHC agenda, with a focus on health promotion, preventive care, and equitable access to services.
As a key driver of policy and strategy, the MoH champions inclusive and accessible healthcare for all citizens, ensuring no one is left behind in the pursuit of health equity.
VSO
VSO is an international development organisation leveraging the expertise of volunteers to tackle global health and social challenges.
In Kenya, VSO partners with the Ministry of Health to implement intersectional health promotion strategies, addressing social determinants of health and improving outcomes for marginalised populations.
Co-organisers
Any questions? Get in touch with us at regionaluhc@vsoint.org or check out our FAQs page.