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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Young Professionals can now apply to join the Movement for Health Equity

Applications for the 2014-15 Global Health Corps (GHC) fellowship are now open. It is the sixth class of fellows and young professionals who want to make an impact in global health and development should apply for its fellowships in Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and the United States.

GHC is creating a new breed of health sector leaders - a global community of changemakers - that develop innovative solutions to the world’s most challenging health problems.

GHC now seeks to engage young professionals with skill-sets that are often viewed as outside of the traditional health field, such as financial managers, communications specialists, architects, computer scientists and supply chain analysts.

Through the fellowship, these professionals apply their expertise to help address urgent global health challenges by working with Ministries of Health, non-profits and other health organizations. Fellows work on issues such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, agriculture and health financing.

“Global Health Corps is proud to recruit its sixth class of outstanding fellows,” said CEO and co-founder Barbara Bush. “The GHC community is comprised of young leaders who share a common belief that health is a human right, and we invite passionate young leaders who are committed to social justice to apply for the fellowship and join the fight for health equity.”

According to Barbara Barungi Kayanja the CHC East Africa Regional Director, they have contributed to increasing employment opportunities for they youth in Uganda as all the fellows who have gone through the program are now employed.

“We provide an entry point to fellows interested in working in Global health although they may not have a health background. So far 37 Ugandans have found jobs after our fellowship with their placement organization, government or another health organization,” she said. CHC started in 2009.

For instance fellows developed and implemented ACODEV’s inaugural communication strategy, which formalized internal and external communications, promoted documented accountability mechanisms, improved knowledge management, and increased visibility of organizational impact.

They also built the capacity of ACODEV staff and partners in resource mobilization through the creation of a decentralized Resource Mobilization Team that has thus far submitted nine grant proposals of over $1.3million. Another team of Fellows procured over $2M in paediatric and EID commodities for public sector patients.

While another one directed two youth camps for over 60 youth from vulnerable backgrounds, and created a Slam Poetry group for high school girls in Mukono, which aims to teach them skills in public speaking, creative writing and provided a safe space for them to come together and share their stories.

GHC offers young leaders year-long paid fellowships in partnership with internationally renowned organizations, including Partners In Health, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and USAID, who are working on the frontlines of the fight for global health equity.

 Each international fellow is paired with a fellow from the host country in which they work to promote cross-cultural knowledge sharing and support. Throughout the fellowship year, GHC provides training in partnership with The Global Health Leadership Institute at Yale University, mentorship, and professional development opportunities to ensure that fellows are equipped to be global health change makers during the fellowship and beyond.

“What makes this partnership special is that it brings together talented young people and organizations working on the ground to create innovative solutions in global health,” said Adrian Stuart, Country Director of CHAI Malawi.

“Our Global Health Corps fellows work seamlessly with the CHAI employees to bring fresh ideas to the table and implement new strategies to ensure that individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis have regular and affordable access to life-saving medicine."

Since 2009, Global Health Corps has placed 322 fellows to work in non-profit and with government partners focused on healthcare delivery. The fifth class currently in the field consists of 106 fellows from 16 countries, who work with 44 non-profit and government partners.

The fellows are working on a range of projects, including developing electronic medical record systems in Malawi, counseling homeless youth in New Jersey, and constructing a world-class hospital in rural Rwanda.

“Global Health Corps is a unique opportunity not available anywhere else,” said Lisa Grossman and Neil Malilwe, 2012-2013 fellows with Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). “During our fellowship, we worked directly on complex problems like the need to improve women’s health and service delivery, while simultaneously gaining a better and broader perspective on the complex issues of social justice and equity.”

To apply for a 2014-2015 Fellowship, please visit http://ghcorps.org/fellows/apply/. All applicants must be 30 years or younger, have earned an undergraduate university degree by July 2014, and be proficient in English. Applications close on January 26.

 

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