Country: South Africa
Location: Cape Town
Program: AstraZeneca Young Health Programme Impact Fellowship 2026
Category: Fellowship
Application Deadline: 12 April 2026
Project Length: 6–12 months
Applications are now open for the AstraZeneca Young Health Programme Impact Fellowship 2026, delivered through One Young World. This opportunity is designed for young leaders who are already creating positive change and are ready to join a global network working on better outcomes for people, society, and the planet. Selected participants will attend the One Young World Summit in Cape Town and access funding, training, and international connections.
What the Fellowship Supports
The fellowship is built around three action areas. Applicants may focus on advancing health equity, including early action to prevent non-communicable diseases among young people or support for young people living with rare diseases. They may also focus on climate and nature, especially work related to the health and well-being effects of climate change on young people. A third pathway is health systems resilience, with an emphasis on earlier intervention and stronger systems for present and future needs.
What Selected Fellows Receive
Fellows will receive a fully funded scholarship to attend the 2026 One Young World Summit in Cape Town, South Africa. The summit dates are listed as 3 to 6 November 2026, and applicants must be able to participate in person during 2 to 7 November 2026. Fellows will also join the One Young World Ambassador Network and the Young Health Programme Alumni group.
Beyond summit participation, the programme offers structured development support. This includes self-directed and live learning, access to the One Young World Academy mini-MBA programme, mentorship from AstraZeneca colleagues, and professional training.
Each selected Fellow will also receive grant funding through their non-profit organisation. The grant amount is either USD 10,000 or USD 50,000 if the applicant is selected as the Lead2030 winner for Sustainable Development Goal 3. Applicants to the fellowship are automatically considered for that Lead2030 opportunity.
Who Can Apply
The fellowship is open to nationals of all countries. Applicants must be aged 18 to 30, with the note that people over 30 may still be considered if they demonstrate the required impact, initiative, and willingness to engage. English proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing is required.
Applicants must also be ready to share insights, help shape commitments to action, build partnerships, and act as ambassadors for AstraZeneca’s health equity and Young Health Programme work where appropriate. They must have access to the internet and a phone or computer for live online fellowship sessions.
Organisation Conditions
This fellowship is for founders or leaders of registered non-profit organisations. The organisation must have been registered and operational for at least three full years and must work in underserved communities.
For the USD 10,000 grant category, the organisation’s total reported income in the last financial year must be more than USD 10,000 and less than USD 1,000,000. For the USD 50,000 category, the reported income must be more than USD 100,000 and less than USD 2,000,000.
The organisation must also be able to complete a verification process through the Charities Aid Foundation. This requires English-language documentation that confirms charitable status, governance, and financial position. The verification process may take three to six months. If the required documents are unavailable, grant payment may be affected and the fellowship may be withdrawn.
Project Scope
Applicants must submit a proposal for a 6 to 12 month project. The project may address health equity, climate and nature action, or health systems resilience.
Health equity projects may involve early prevention of chronic diseases by addressing major non-communicable disease risk factors among young people, including tobacco use, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets, and air pollution. They may also support young people living with rare diseases. Climate and nature projects should focus on the intersection of climate, nature, and youth health. Health systems resilience projects should promote stronger and more equitable systems, youth-focused resources, and collaboration across the health sector.
Project Standards
Every proposed project must be inclusive and non-discriminatory, work with underserved communities, and be measurable. Participating organisations must submit end-of-year and end-of-grant reports covering direct reach, policy influence or results, lessons learned, and impact. Projects must begin after October 2026 and must be completed by December 2027.
Projects That Will Not Be Funded
The source states that projects will not qualify if they discriminate or mainly promote political or religious viewpoints, pass grant money to other organisations or individuals, operate mainly as medical courses, fund bursaries or tuition for an existing course, provide treatment or medical advice, pay for medicines, benefit AstraZeneca’s commercial business, continue beyond 12 months, already took place, are planned to begin before November 2026, or already receive more than 50% of their funding from another source apart from the AstraZeneca grant.
Important Dates
The opening date for applications is 5 March 2026. The application deadline is 12 April 2026. AstraZeneca aims for grants to be dispersed by October 2026. Projects are expected to start between October 2026 and April 2027, and all projects must end by December 2027.
