The Global Surgery Advocacy Fellowship is a joint initiative of Operation Smile, the University of Global Health Equity and the Nkafu Policy Institute. It develops advocacy and leadership capacity among professionals working on surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia care in low- and middle-income countries.
The year-long, non-residential fellowship combines in-person and virtual skills training, mentorship and a capstone advocacy project. Fellows apply what they learn to a surgical-care issue in their own communities.
Benefits & funding
- A year of advocacy and leadership development delivered through in-person and virtual training.
- Year-round guidance from an experienced mentor.
- Support to design and implement a capstone advocacy project; the program’s published evaluation reports seed funding for project activities, but the current call gives no amount.
- The current call does not publish a personal stipend, salary, travel package or other individual award amount.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be clinicians, policymakers or researchers from or working in low- and middle-income countries. The official call does not define this as a nationality or residence test.
- Applicants must have 2–5 years of relevant experience.
- Applicants should be committed to improving access to safe and equitable surgical care and be prepared to develop a feasible advocacy project.
- The official call publishes no age, gender or minimum-degree restriction.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Angola · Argentina · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Bangladesh · Belarus · Belize · Benin · Bhutan
+ 119 more
Bolivia · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana · Brazil · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cambodia · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · China · Colombia · Comoros · Côte d'Ivoire · Cuba · DR Congo · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · El Salvador · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Fiji · Gabon · Gambia · Georgia · Ghana · Grenada · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Haiti · Honduras · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Jamaica · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kiribati · Kosovo · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Mali · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mexico · Micronesia · Moldova · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Myanmar · Namibia · Nepal · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · North Macedonia · Pakistan · Palestine · Papua New Guinea · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Samoa · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Serbia · Sierra Leone · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Suriname · Syria · Tajikistan · Tanzania · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Togo · Tonga · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Tuvalu · Uganda · Ukraine · Uzbekistan · Vanuatu · Venezuela · Vietnam · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Residence required
Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Angola · Argentina · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Bangladesh · Belarus · Belize · Benin · Bhutan
+ 119 more
Bolivia · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana · Brazil · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cambodia · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · China · Colombia · Comoros · Côte d'Ivoire · Cuba · DR Congo · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · El Salvador · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Fiji · Gabon · Gambia · Georgia · Ghana · Grenada · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Haiti · Honduras · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Jamaica · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kiribati · Kosovo · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Mali · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mexico · Micronesia · Moldova · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Myanmar · Namibia · Nepal · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · North Macedonia · Pakistan · Palestine · Papua New Guinea · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Samoa · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Serbia · Sierra Leone · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Suriname · Syria · Tajikistan · Tanzania · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Togo · Tonga · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Tuvalu · Uganda · Ukraine · Uzbekistan · Vanuatu · Venezuela · Vietnam · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Experience required
2–5 yrs
Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Complete the official online form with personal, qualification, specialization, nationality, residence and employment details.
- 2Upload a one-page personal statement covering motivation, advocacy or policy-change experience, leadership and intended use of the fellowship.
- 3Upload a one-page description of a proposed global surgery advocacy project and explain how it connects to prior advocacy work.
- 4Upload a CV listing two or three contactable references, then submit by the deadline. Only shortlisted applicants are contacted.
Program timeline
Applications opened for the 2026/27 cycle.
Apr 1, 2026
Application deadline.
May 31, 2026
Dates not published
Shortlisting, decisions and exact fellowship start and end dates.