Christian Ntizimira, Founder and Executive Director of the African Centre for Research on End-of-Life Care (ACREOL Global) in Rwanda, has been named a candidate for the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) Board of Directors for the 2026–2028 term. UICC lists Dr Ntizimira among the 24 candidates competing for 14 Board seats. UICC
The new Board will be elected by UICC full-member organisations at the 2026 UICC General Assembly, which will take place virtually on October 20, 2026. Electronic voting will open on October 13 at 09:00 CEST and close midway through the General Assembly. UICC
Christian Ntizimira’s Work in Palliative and End-of-Life Care
Based in Kigali, Rwanda, Dr Ntizimira is a palliative care physician, researcher, and social entrepreneur whose work focuses on integrating culturally responsive, human-centred palliative and end-of-life care into cancer services.
He is the Founder and Executive Director of ACREOL Global, a nonprofit organisation working to advance what it describes as “Ubuntu in End-of-Life Care” across Africa.
Dr Ntizimira is also the author of The Safari Concept: An African Framework on End-of-Life Care, which explores approaches to death, dying, suffering, and end-of-life care through an African sociocultural perspective.
A Fulbright alumnus and graduate of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, he has worked to connect clinical medicine, social science, community engagement, and health policy.
His palliative care model has been scaled across 13 districts and 16 hospitals in Rwanda, reaching more than 6.8 million people and involving the training of more than 1,100 healthcare professionals, according to his UICC candidate profile. UICC
Dr Ntizimira has also been recognised internationally for his work in palliative care, including receiving the 2021 Tällberg-Stervos Niarcos Foundation-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize.
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Why Christian Ntizimira Is Running for the UICC Board
In his candidate statement, Dr Ntizimira said his candidacy is focused on bringing culturally responsive, supportive, and palliative care more firmly into global cancer control.
He described his 20-year experience in palliative care as informing an approach that connects global cancer policy with the realities faced by patients and healthcare professionals in African communities.
“I am running for the UICC Board to contribute a crucial paradigm shift in global cancer control: the integration of culturally context-sensitive, human-centred, supportive, and palliative care.”
He identified health system strengthening and people-centred cancer care as two areas where he would seek to contribute to UICC’s work.
For health systems, he highlighted the need to integrate decentralised, community-led palliative care into national cancer plans rather than treating it as a secondary component of cancer services.
He also pointed to the importance of connecting modern cancer therapies and essential medicines with local sociocultural values and community needs.
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Bringing an African Perspective to Global Cancer Control
A central theme of Dr Ntizimira’s candidacy is the role of culture in cancer care.
Through ACREOL Global and his work on The Safari Concept, he has developed approaches that use local concepts and community relationships to address suffering and end-of-life care.
He describes this as moving the cancer narrative beyond the concept of simply “end-of-life” toward supporting patients and families throughout the remainder of life.
“By shifting the clinical paradigm from isolated hospital stays, it transitioned the cancer narrative from ‘end-of-life’ to ‘life until the end’.”
His work also incorporates anthropology and social research. Following his studies at Harvard Medical School, he developed what he calls the Butterfly Approach to Decision-Making, which explores the relationship between individual autonomy and community responsibility in healthcare decisions.
He said this perspective could contribute to UICC discussions around the sociocultural barriers that affect equitable cancer care.
Advancing People-Centred and Community-Based Cancer Care
Dr Ntizimira has also highlighted the importance of palliative care as an integral part of national cancer control.
His model in Rwanda has expanded palliative care services beyond individual hospitals and into communities, with healthcare professionals trained across multiple districts and facilities.
“Palliative care must be among the pillars of national cancer planning, not an afterthought.”
He also identified barriers such as shortages of healthcare professionals and limited access to essential medicines as areas requiring coordinated action.
His approach places particular emphasis on the principles of Ubuntu, which he describes as a framework centred on shared humanity, community, and relational dignity.
Watch Dr Christian Ntizimira’s video message outlining his experience, priorities, and vision as a candidate for the UICC Board of Directors for the 2026–2028 term.
UICC Board Elections 2026
UICC full-member organisations will elect 14 members of the Board of Directors for the 2026–2028 term at the virtual General Assembly on October 20, 2026. The voting platform will open on October 13 at 09:00 CEST and remain open until midway through the General Assembly. UICC
UICC announced 24 candidates for the 14 Board positions following a nomination process that received 51 Board nominations. The candidate profiles and videos have been published to provide UICC members with information ahead of the election.
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