The Equity Initiative Fellowship Program
is focused on promoting the Fellows' understanding of social justice in health, growing the Fellows' leadership competency, and fostering a community that drives meaningful systems change.
Why Health Equity and Leadership?
Health equity means that everyone has a fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible, but there are many non-medical factors that influence this like income, education, policy, and other social systems affecting daily life. These issues cannot be solved by the health sector alone, which is why the Equity Initiative is looking for Fellows from a wide range of sectors who are passionate about health equity, and can lead a community dedicated to fairer societies in Southeast Asia and China!
Recent stories
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Fellowship Program
Global Learning I: Hospitable Hosts & Deep Dives into New Zealand’s Approach Towards Health and Racial Equity
“Let us be good ancestors now – even if we are young – so that we can be good to the next generation to come.” – Marcus Akuhata-Brown, Pouwhakatere Deputy Secretary Māori, Ministry of Justice.
Opening Retreat: Fellows Bond Through Stories of Diversity and Courage
“We heard real stories (from Fellows) of courage to get through their difficulties in life. It was like watching a Netflix original series of very different, amazing stories around Southeast Asia that are very close to me, but I never had the chance to learn about.” - Ho Thai Binh (2024, Viet Nam), on the River of Life session- his personal highlight of the Opening Retreat
Welcome to the 2024 EI Fellows!
We warmly welcome the 30 dynamic individuals who have been selected as the 2024 Equity Initiative Fellows! Representing 11 countries across Southeast Asia and China, this 8th cohort embodies a shared passion for fostering positive change in areas like education, environmental and social advocacy, public administration, agricultural development, disability rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and technology.
Global Learning I: Hospitable Hosts & Deep Dives into New Zealand’s Approach Towards Health and Racial Equity
“Let us be good ancestors now – even if we are young – so that we can be good to the next generation to come.” – Marcus Akuhata-Brown, Pouwhakatere Deputy Secretary Māori, Ministry of Justice.
Opening Retreat: Fellows Bond Through Stories of Diversity and Courage
“We heard real stories (from Fellows) of courage to get through their difficulties in life. It was like watching a Netflix original series of very different, amazing stories around Southeast Asia that are very close to me, but I never had the chance to learn about.” - Ho Thai Binh (2024, Viet Nam), on the River of Life session- his personal highlight of the Opening Retreat
Welcome to the 2024 EI Fellows!
We warmly welcome the 30 dynamic individuals who have been selected as the 2024 Equity Initiative Fellows! Representing 11 countries across Southeast Asia and China, this 8th cohort embodies a shared passion for fostering positive change in areas like education, environmental and social advocacy, public administration, agricultural development, disability rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and technology.
Community Building
2023 Annual Forum: Strengthening the EI Equity Community
2023 Annual Forum News
CMB-Mahidol Postgraduate Scholarship Program
We are pleased to announce the CMB-Mahidol Postgraduate Scholarship Program for Myanmar Scholars for the 2022 Academic Year! CMB and Mahidol University are offering scholarships for Myanmar nationals working on health equity, particularly in ethnic minority areas of Myanmar. The scholarship is applicable to three programs in Mahidol University: ✏ Master of Public Health (MPH) ✏ Master of Primary Health Care Management (MPHM) ✏ Master of Science in Biomedical and Health Informatics Applications are open from November 20 to December 31, 2021 More info and applications: https://graduate.mahidol.ac.th/CMB-Mahidol-Postgraduate-Scholarship/
2021 Annual Forum: A Valuable Exchange in the Virtual Space
2021 Annual Forum
2023 Annual Forum: Strengthening the EI Equity Community
2023 Annual Forum News
CMB-Mahidol Postgraduate Scholarship Program
We are pleased to announce the CMB-Mahidol Postgraduate Scholarship Program for Myanmar Scholars for the 2022 Academic Year! CMB and Mahidol University are offering scholarships for Myanmar nationals working on health equity, particularly in ethnic minority areas of Myanmar. The scholarship is applicable to three programs in Mahidol University: ✏ Master of Public Health (MPH) ✏ Master of Primary Health Care Management (MPHM) ✏ Master of Science in Biomedical and Health Informatics Applications are open from November 20 to December 31, 2021 More info and applications: https://graduate.mahidol.ac.th/CMB-Mahidol-Postgraduate-Scholarship/
2021 Annual Forum: A Valuable Exchange in the Virtual Space
2021 Annual Forum
Other News
The Greatest Gift has Been My Cohort of Fellows...
The 2023 EI Fellows graduated in January at the 2024 Equity Initiative Annual Forum and officially also became ‘Atlantic Fellows’. As part of their journey in the Equity Initiative lifelong fellowship, they will travel to Oxford University in July, to convene with Fellows from a total of 7 Atlantic Fellows programs from across the world.
2025-2026 Equity Initiative Fellowship Program Applications Open 15 JUNE
Applications for the 2025-2026 Equity Initiaitve Fellowship Program open 15 JUNE! If you are driven to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, we encourage you to apply and become part of our passionate and committed community of change-makers for health equity in Southeast Asia.
Finding Unity in Diversity
In celebration of World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, Meriam Tedding (2024, Philippines) reflects on the value of diversity, and linking it with a recent trip to New Zealand as part of Global Learning I:
The Greatest Gift has Been My Cohort of Fellows...
The 2023 EI Fellows graduated in January at the 2024 Equity Initiative Annual Forum and officially also became ‘Atlantic Fellows’. As part of their journey in the Equity Initiative lifelong fellowship, they will travel to Oxford University in July, to convene with Fellows from a total of 7 Atlantic Fellows programs from across the world.
2025-2026 Equity Initiative Fellowship Program Applications Open 15 JUNE
Applications for the 2025-2026 Equity Initiaitve Fellowship Program open 15 JUNE! If you are driven to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, we encourage you to apply and become part of our passionate and committed community of change-makers for health equity in Southeast Asia.
Finding Unity in Diversity
In celebration of World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, Meriam Tedding (2024, Philippines) reflects on the value of diversity, and linking it with a recent trip to New Zealand as part of Global Learning I:
Fellowship Program
The Fellowship program seeks to inspire and deepen the Fellows’ commitment to advance social justice in health.
Launched in 2016, the Equity Initiative, also known as the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity in Southeast Asia
Empowering The Next Generation Of Leaders For Health Equity