Global health corps has launched its fifth class of fellows today, during the opening of its annual Training Institute at Yale University. The 106 fellows hail from 16 countries and will serve with 44 health organizations in Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and select cities in the United States. The newest fellowship class was selected from a pool of almost 4,000 applicants and highlights GHC's continued growth. GHC began with 22 fellows in 2009 and last year placed 90 fellows with 34 organizations. Since 2009, Global Health Corps has grown over 450% and placed 322 fellows in positions to partner with non-profit organizations and government agencies focused on healthcare delivery.

The organization engages and empowers a new generation of leaders who want to markedly shift the inequity in healthcare access around the world.

"It is critical to elevate these outstanding youth voices within the global health field," said CEO and co-founder Barbara Bush. "At GHC, we invest in young leaders through ongoing mentorship, professional development and leadership training to ensure that the Global Health Corps fellowship becomes a launching point for our fellows, allowing them to become changemakers and innovators in their careers."

GHC recruits, trains and places young professionals with skill-sets that are often viewed as outside of the traditional health workforce, including financial managers, communications specialists, architects, computer scientists and supply chain analysts. It is a model based on partnership where these professionals apply their expertise to strengthening health systems by bringing fresh thinking and new solutions to the work already being done on the ground.

"In this fourth year of partnering with GHC, we are proud to host six more fellows in three of our country programs – Malawi, Uganda, and Zambia," said Adaku Ejiogu, Senior Technical Officer for Partnerships at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). "This program offers young professionals a unique opportunity to develop new skills, experiences and relationships that will make a positive impact on our efforts to eliminate pediatric HIV/AIDS worldwide."

Fellows confront issues including, but not limited to, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, hunger and malnutrition and health access. During the fellowship year, the fellows take on projects which in the past have ranged from organizing a flashmob around condom distribution in Burundi, to counseling homeless youth in New Jersey, to constructing a world-class hospital in rural Rwanda. Fellows apply for and carry out a specific job throughout the fellowship year and are expected to engage in the larger health dialogue on a local, national and international level in order to effect broader change.

"My experience as a Global Health Corps fellow has helped me fine-tune my career path and acquire the knowledge and skills that will shape my work for years to come," said Rémy Pacifique Ntirenganya, who served as a Pharmacy Supply Chain Analyst with Partners In Health (PIH), Rwanda. "By working with professionals from diverse backgrounds and participating in numerous capacity building programs on related topics, I've grown personally and increased my ability to make an impact as a global health professional."

Over the next two weeks, the new class of fellows will participate in the Training Institute at Yale University before departing for their in-country assignments.

Global Health Corps mobilizes a global community of emerging leaders to build the movement for health equity. GHC believes young people are the future to solving global health challenges. We place recent college graduates and young professionals from diverse professional backgrounds in health non-profits and government offices in the US, East Africa and Southern Africa for a year of service in order to strengthen and learn from the organizations. Fellows focus on creating solutions for a variety of current health issues like HIV, maternal child health, and healthcare access. Through additional training, community building, leadership development and mentorship these young people complete their fellowship with skills to be changemakers and paradigm-shifters in the global health field throughout their careers. Since its founding in 2009, GHC has deployed 322 fellows to work in 7 countries.