The Youth Digital Health Champions programme, run by Africa CDC’s Youth in Digital Health Network (YiDHN), identifies and connects young African leaders working in digital health innovation, research, policy, and advocacy, offering a 12-month engagement with visibility, mentorship, and access to high-level policy dialogues.
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The round covered in the pasted content, with a September 14, 2025 deadline, has led directly into the now-announced 2026 Cohort — Africa CDC publicly confirmed the selected champions on March 23, 2026, chosen from thousands of applications across Africa and the diaspora. This cohort is now fully underway, so the current application window has closed. This guide covers what the programme actually offers, who tends to qualify, and what to watch for ahead of the next call for applications.
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About the Programme and Its Broader Strategy
This programme sits inside something larger than a standalone opportunity — it’s a direct implementation piece of Africa CDC’s Strategy for Youth Engagement and Participation in Health (YES!Health Strategy) 2025-2028, a continental strategy that explicitly treats young people as architects of Africa’s health security agenda, not just beneficiaries of it. Africa CDC has been direct about the demographic reasoning behind this: with over 65% of Africa’s population under 35, the organisation frames youth leadership investment as central to advancing health security, digital transformation, and economic growth across the continent, rather than a peripheral youth engagement initiative.
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The Y-DHC programme’s thematic priorities align with YiDHN’s broader objectives — strengthening digital capacity and literacy among youth, engaging young people directly in governance and regulatory forums, facilitating access to funding and scale-up pathways, and connecting youth with key stakeholders across the digital health ecosystem. The 2026 Cohort’s scale reflects genuine momentum: Africa CDC selected champions from thousands of applications, publishing separate cohort lists broken out by Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Africa — a level of regional representation built directly into how the programme organises and presents its champions.
Africa CDC Youth Digital Health Champions (Y-DHC) Program Summary
| Scholarship Name ⇒ | Africa CDC Youth Digital Health Champions (Y-DHC) Program |
| Host Country ⇒ | Africa |
| Study Level ⇒ | Training |
| Benefits ⇒ | Competitive pay, mentorship, career development, possible housing support |
| Funded by ⇒ | Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) |
| Eligible Countries ⇒ | African countries |
| Application Deadline ⇒ | 2026 Cohort has been selected and announced (March 2026). Next call for applications not yet published — watch Africa CDC’s official youth platform directly |
What Champions Actually Receive
- Visibility through Africa CDC and YiDHN’s own platforms, giving selected champions genuine continental exposure rather than purely local or personal recognition.
- Access to high-level policy dialogues, engaging directly with health leaders, policymakers, and innovation partners rather than being kept at a distance from actual decision-making.
- Capacity building through tailored training and workshops, run specifically for the champion cohort.
- Networking within a genuinely pan-African community of digital health innovators, spanning all five African regions.
- Mentorship from Africa CDC experts and partner organisations.
- Event participation, including opportunities at major Africa CDC convenings such as the Africa HealthTech Summit — a genuinely significant continental platform, not a minor side event.
- Growth pathways through innovation challenges, with potential seed funding and accelerator programme participation for standout champions.
Who Can Apply
The Youth Digital Health Champions (Y-DHC) Program—a flagship 12-month initiative under the Africa CDC’s Youth in Digital Health Network (YiDHN)—identifies and connects young leaders driving healthcare transformation across Africa.
Applications are submitted online via the official Africa CDC Youth Portal or designated online intake forms. All supporting files must be clear PDF documents or accessible web links.
- Completed Online Application Form:
- Data Inputs: Covers personal biodata, country of citizenship/residency, working language skills, and selected primary digital health focus track (Innovation/Tech, Research, Public Health, Policy, or Literacy).
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Résumé:
- Length Constraint: Maximum 2 pages.
- Content Focus: Must highlight demonstrated leadership, technical expertise, and active involvement in digital health initiatives, startups, public health deployments, or research projects.
- One Confidential Letter of Recommendation:
- Source: Issued by an academic mentor, senior public health official, tech supervisor, or professional collaborator.
- Focus Area: Must evaluate your leadership capability, initiative, problem-solving skills, and contribution to digital health transformation.
- Proof of Eligibility & Citizenship:
- Document Verification: Scan of your valid International Passport data page or National Identity Card confirming citizenship in an African Union (AU) member state (or African diaspora origin).
- Optional Merit Portfolio & Media Links:
- Supporting Evidence: URLs to active healthtech products, live software repositories (GitHub), published research papers, media features, or project documentation highlighting tangible results.
Documents to Prepare
To apply for the Africa CDC Youth Digital Health Champions (Y-DHC) Program, candidates must assemble a digital portfolio and submit it via the official Africa CDC application portal. Because evaluation heavily prioritizes verifiable technical and policy engagement over general interest, every component must highlight practical contributions to African digital health systems.
- Completed Online Application Form:
- Platform: Access and complete all sections of the designated Africa CDC / YiDHN Google Form or web portal.
- Data Inputs: Requires accurate personal biodata, official contact details, African Union member state citizenship confirmation, and selection of your primary engagement pillar (HealthTech Innovation, Public Health Programs, Research & Academia, or Policy & Digital Literacy).
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Résumé (Capped at 2 Pages):
- Page Limit: Strictly maximum 2 pages. Submissions exceeding 2 pages risk disqualification.
- Content Focus: Detail your professional timeline, academic achievements, leadership positions, and hands-on digital health experience. Use bullet points emphasizing measurable outcomes (e.g., population reach, system uptake, or research citations).
- One Recommendation Letter:
- Authorized Sources: Issued by a professional supervisor, academic mentor, public health official, or recognized community leader.
- Content Standard: The letter must appear on official letterhead, include a signature, and directly address your technical skills, leadership ability, work ethic, and potential to advance continental digital health goals.
- Proof of Identity & AU Citizenship:
- Document Standard: High-resolution digital scan of the bio-data page of your valid International Passport or official National ID card.
- Age & Citizenship Verification: Verifies that you meet the age requirement (18–35 years) and hold citizenship in an African Union member state or recognized African diaspora status.
- Optional Merit Links & Digital Health Portfolio (Highly Recommended):
- Strategic Value: Heavily weighted to prove your active, concrete involvement in digital health initiatives.
- Accepted Submissions: Live links to digital health platforms, published peer-reviewed research/whitepapers, GitHub software repositories, media coverage of healthtech startups, or downloadable project reports.
How to Prepare for the Next Call
- Monitor the Africa CDC’s official youth platform directly for the next call for applications, as it publishes announcements and cohort details first.
- Strengthen your actual digital health engagement in the meantime — the programme’s eligibility criteria are explicit about active involvement, not passive interest, so building a genuine track record in innovation, research, public health technology, or policy advocacy strengthens your future application meaningfully.
- Identify a strong recommender now — someone who can speak specifically to your digital health work, rather than a generic academic or professional reference.
- Document your projects, publications, or initiatives as they happen, so you have concrete links and evidence ready when the next application window opens, rather than trying to assemble a portfolio retroactively.
- Prepare a concise, focused two-page CV highlighting your specific digital health contributions, since this format constraint has applied consistently across past cycles.
- Submit promptly once a new call opens, given that recent cohorts have drawn thousands of applications from across the continent — early, complete submissions are generally safer than last-minute ones in high-volume competitive calls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Y-DHC Program currently accepting applications?
No. The 2026 cohort has already been selected and publicly announced as of March 2026, and the next call for applications has not yet been published.
How competitive is this programme?
Very. The 2026 Cohort was selected from thousands of applications across Africa and the diaspora, reflecting substantial and growing interest in the programme.
Do I need to be a formally trained health professional to apply?
No. Eligibility covers a broad range of engagement types — innovation and technology development, public health programmes, research and academia, and policy advocacy or digital health literacy work all qualify, not just clinical or formal health training.
Can members of the African diaspora apply, or only continental Africans?
Yes, diaspora members can apply. Eligibility explicitly includes both citizens of African Union member states and Africans in the diaspora.
Is this a paid fellowship?
The programme’s stated benefits centre on visibility, mentorship, networking, and policy engagement, with potential access to funding pathways and innovation challenges for standout champions, rather than a guaranteed direct stipend for all participants.
Disclaimer: All programme details and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from Africa CDC’s official sources as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on Africa CDC’s official youth platform before applying. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
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