Anna Kågesten

Anna Kågesten is an Associate Professor and Assistant Lecturer in Global Health at Karolinska Institutet’s Department of Global Public Health, leading the Global and Sexual Health (GloSH) research group. With over 15 years of experience in SRHR research and epidemiology, she focuses on youth, girls, and women in low- and middle-income contexts, integrating digital health, HIV prevention, and gender studies into her work.

• Education
  • Doctorate (2017), Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology and Global Health (2012), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Bachelor’s degree in Public Health (2007), University of Gothenburg

Her research spans maternal health, digital SRH care, gender-based violence, and the intersection of climate change and SRHR. She has secured significant grants from the Swedish Research Council and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for projects like HPV-END-IT and ENGAGE. GloSH emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration in weak health systems and hosts the Gapminder project. She previously worked as a research consultant for WHO and contributed to improving Swedish sexuality education.

• Key Research Grants
  • HPV-END-IT: Addressing HPV vaccine hesitancy in Sweden (2024-2026)
  • GIRLS: Impact of pandemic restrictions on Ugandan adolescent girls’ reproductive health (2023-2025)
  • ENGAGE: Optimizing HIV care for pregnant/postpartum women in Tanzania (2022-2026)
  • EmpoderAR: Self-managed abortion in Latin America (2021-2023)
  • IMPower: Reducing gender violence in South Africa (2020-2022)