Deadline: April 12, 2026
Applications are open for the AstraZeneca Young Health Programme Impact Fellowship 2026. Are you aged 18-30 and creating positive change for people, society and the planet? Are you leading projects within a registered non profit organisation? Are you ready to be part of a global network with other young people who are creating positive change for the future?
AstraZeneca is looking for passionate, driven young leaders to join their 2026 Young Health Programme (YHP) Impact Fellowship. The Fellowship supports young advocates to create actionable change to:
- Advance health equity – with a focus on acting early to prevent non-communicable diseases among young people or supporting young people living with rare diseases.
- Take action on climate and nature – advocating for the mitigation of the harmful effects of climate change on the health and well-being of young people.
- Build health systems resilience – contributing to stronger health systems that prioritise earlier intervention to meet today’s needs and mitigate tomorrow’s disease burden.
Benefits
The selected Fellows will gain access to networks, funding and development opportunities, enabling them to drive a global health movement led by and for young people:
- Access to Networks: A fully-funded scholarship to attend the 2026 One Young World Summit in Cape Town, South Africa (3–6 November 2026) as well as access to the One Young World Ambassador Network and the Young Health Programme (YHP) Alumni group of other young changemakers working to improve youth health.
- Access to Development: Structured learning and development offerings to enable them to scale their impact, including both self-directed and live learning. This includes access to the One Young World Academy, an award-winning mini-MBA programme, mentorship from AstraZeneca colleagues and professional training.
- Access to Funding: Each selected Fellow will receive a grant of either USD $10,000 or USD $50,000 (if selected as the Lead2030 winner for Sustainable Development Goal 3, for which applicants will be automatically considered) from AstraZeneca, through their non-profit organisation. Fellows are expected to use the grant to implement a project focused on either (1) advancing health equity (2) taking action on climate and nature (3) building health systems resilience.
Eligibility
- Be aged 18 – 30.
- Proficiency in English (speaking, reading, writing).
- Nationals of all countries are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
- Ability to fully participate in-person at the One Young World Summit (2-7 November 2026) in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Willingness to share insights, help co-create commitments to action, foster partnerships, and serve as ambassadors of AstraZeneca’s health equity and YHP work where appropriate.
- Access to the internet and a device (computer, phone) that will allow them to participate in live, online Fellowship sessions – this will not be provided to Fellows.
- Applicants must be founders or leaders of registered non-profit organisations that meet the following criteria:
- Have been registered and operational for at least 3 full years.
- To be considered to receive a $10,000 grant: have had a total reported income in the last financial year of more than USD$10,000 and less than USD$1,000,000.
- To be considered to receive a $50,000 grant: Have had a total reported income in the last financial year of more than USD$100,000 and less than USD$2,000,000.
- Are ‘funding-ready’ and able to provide appropriate documentation (in English) to AstraZeneca’s grant-making partner at the Charities Aid Foundation to verify their organisation’s charitable status, governance and financial situation. This process can take 3-6 months to complete and will begin once Fellows are selected. If the required documentation is not available, it may impact the ability of the organisation to receive the grant and Fellowship may be withdrawn. They aim for all grants to be dispersed by October 2026, and projects to start between October 2026 and April 2027. All projects must end by December 2027.
- Operate in underserved communities.
Project Requirements
- Applicants must be able to propose a 6-12 month project that focuses on either one of the following:
- Health equity:
- Acting early to prevent chronic diseases by tackling the five major non-communicable disease (NCD) behavioral risk factors common among young people (tobacco use, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets, and air pollution) that contribute to NCDs (lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, type 2 diabetes, and chronic kidney disease).
- Supporting young people living with rare diseases.
- Climate and nature action:
- Taking action at the intersection of climate and nature that impacts young people’s health.
- Health systems resilience:
- Advocating for stronger, more equitable health systems, prioritisation of youth-focused resources and collaboration across health system stakeholders.
- Health equity:
- Additionally, the project must:
- Be inclusive and non-discriminatory in its approach.
- Work with underserved communities.
- Be measurable and able to demonstrate impact. Organisations must provide an end-of-year and end-of-grant report including, but not limited to, total number of young people reached directly, policies influenced/result, lessons learned and impact.
- Begin after October 2026 and will be completed by December 2027.
- Projects that do any of the following are not eligible for funding:
- Discriminate or primarily promote political or religious viewpoints to their beneficiaries.
- Use the funds to make grants or financial donations to other organisations or individuals.
- Be primarily a medical course/s.
- Provide bursaries, tuition, scholarships or fees for an existing course.
- Provide treatment, promote medicines, provide medical advice or pay for medicines.
- Benefit AstraZeneca’s commercial business.
- Last more than 12 months.
- Have already taken place or are planned to start before November 2026.
- Be funded more than 50% by another source, aside from the AstraZeneca Grant.
Application
For more information, visit AstraZeneca Young Health Programme Impact Fellowship.
