Health equity is not only a health issue. It is a leadership challenge that cuts across every sector, and disability inclusion is part of it. Persons with disabilities across Asia and the Pacific continue to face barriers to health services, education, employment, and full participation in public life. Those barriers are produced by systems, and changing them requires leaders who can work across sectors, disciplines, and borders.
Disability inclusion is one of the areas our Fellows work in, alongside mental health, climate justice, gender equality, the rights of marginalized communities, and many others. What they share is a commitment to changing the structures that determine who gets to be healthy and who does not.
The Equity Initiative Fellowship, also known as the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity in Southeast Asia (AFHESEA), is a fully funded fellowship of the CMB Foundation for leaders advancing health equity in Southeast Asia and China. Launched in 2016 and now in its tenth year, it has grown into a community of 234 Fellows from ten cohorts across twelve countries, working in government, non-governmental and community-based organizations, academia, business, and social enterprise. Applications for the 2027-2028 Fellowship, the eleventh cohort, are now open.
The Fellowship aims to develop mid-career leaders who can advance health equity in their own contexts and across the region. Over six weeks of in-person learning events, combined with blended online engagement, Fellows examine the structures that produce inequity, build practical approaches to systems change, and join a lifelong network of peers across Southeast Asia and China. After completing the induction year, Fellows also join the global Atlantic Fellows community. Applicants do not need to work in health. We warmly encourage applications from leaders working on disability inclusion.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Have a track record of demonstrated leadership and commitment to equity and social justice;
- Have at least six years of professional working experience in health, social development, governance and law, environmental justice, or other relevant fields;
- Be a resident citizen of one of the Southeast Asian countries or China;
- Be proficient in spoken and written English.
Key dates
- Step 1 applications close: 1 August 2026 (GMT+7)
- Applications close: 31 August 2026 (GMT+7)
- Finalists notified: December 2026
- First learning event: March 2027
To apply, please visit The Equity Initiative Fellowship Program: https://www.equityinitiative.org/fellowship-program
To receive updates on the Fellowship, please subscribe to the Applicant Newsletter: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QZX28NN
For more information, please contact info@equityinitiative.org.
*Please note that you must complete Step 1 of your application by 1 August 2026. Failing to do so will prevent you from proceeding to the full application.