Program Description
The fully funded, 12-month WomenLift Health Eastern Africa Leadership Journey is designed to provide talented women leaders in health with the safe space to explore their authentic leadership through vulnerability and reflection, an inclusive and diverse network which fosters a strong sense of belonging, tools and strategies for enhancing their voice, presence, and influence – all the while being supported by a powerful group of peers, mentors, and coaches. The program imparts contextualized tools and frameworks to address the individual, institutional, health sector challenges that women leaders in global health face today.
Participants engage in two in-person experiential learning residencies (Immersion and Lift-Off), in addition to virtual learning touchpoints, virtual group mentoring, virtual one-on-one coaching sessions, and importantly, a self-directed – all the while being supported by their Leadership Journey community and experts in the health sector.
Global Fellows, those who successfully complete the Leadership Journey, will be part of a lifelong network of allies at local, regional, and global levels who continue to support each other and new cohort members and advocate for women’s leadership.
Eligibility Criteria
- Identify as a woman
- Demonstrate fluency and confidence in both written and verbal English communication. This includes the ability to articulate emotions, participate in reflective dialogue, engage in complex interpersonal conversations, and integrate leadership development concepts throughout the Journey.
- Are a citizen who resides and works within the following countries: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan or Burundi
- Live in EAT (+/-1 hour) time zones for at least 75% of the program as we believe time zone compatibility is essential to your ability to participate at the touchpoints and to engage with your peers within and outside of the sessions.
- Are a mid-career leader with 10–25 years of work experience in health++. WomenLift Health defines Health++ as the recognition that sustainable improvements in health require coordinated action across interconnected fields that shape and enable health such as climate change, food systems, agriculture, water and sanitation, education, economic policy, gender equity, and technology.
WomenLift Health is committed to selecting diverse cohort members, representing different sectors (public, private, academia, NGO, philanthropy), disciplines, and cultural backgrounds, etc.
Benefits
- Cost: Free (all program costs, including travel and lodging, are covered.)
Program Dates
- The 2027 Eastern Africa Leadership Journeys will take place from March 16, 2027 – February 10, 2028. Before applying, please check the dates and timing of the sessions to make sure you can attend all touchpoints and in-person residencies, as all sessions are mandatory.
- The in-person residences involving travel include the three-day Immersion (May 25-27, 2027, including travel days on May 24 and May 28) and the three-day Lift-Off (February 8-10, 2028, including travel days on February 7 and February 11, 2028). The location of the in-person residencies will be communicated to the cohort members closer to the event dates.
Application Process
The application deadline is September 17, 2026.
Grant Atlas