The Elsayed Health Foundation is being registered as a charity in England and Wales. Until registration completes, we are not taking donations.

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The Elsayed Health Foundation مؤسسة السيد للصحة

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Apply for a grant or award

We fund doctors in training and the hospitals that train them, wherever care is scarce. Applications open in rounds, and every applicant is nominated by someone who knows their work.

What you can apply for

Two routes: doctors, and hospitals

For doctors in training

You apply; your head of department or a Fellow nominates you.

  • Exam and course grantUp to £2,000
  • Observership, 2 to 6 weeksUp to £3,000
  • Fellowship travel grantUp to £4,000
  • The Golden Hour AwardOne course place, up to £600
  • The Dr Sayed Elsayed AwardFrom 2028

Exam grants pay the college or course provider. Observerships cover flights, visa, host fee and accommodation. Fellowship travel covers flights, visa, the health surcharge and your first month's accommodation. Golden Hour places are on a course in your own country or region.

For hospitals and departments

The head of department or hospital applies, at any time of year.

  • Equipment grantFor a named item your unit has asked for, with a named person to maintain it. We pay for the item, training for its users and its upkeep.
  • Host a teaching-case surgical campOperations for patients who cannot pay, done by your team with a visiting Fellow teaching alongside. Your hospital holds the licences, indemnity and follow-up.
  • Become a partner departmentNominate trainees each round and host our work.

Who can apply

You can apply if all of these are true

  • You are a doctor in training, or within [number] years of finishing specialist training, in orthopaedics, trauma, emergency medicine or psychiatry.
  • You work in a low- or middle-income country, as listed by the World Bank.
  • Your head of department or a Fellow of the Foundation will nominate you.
  • You plan to keep working where you trained, and to pass on what you learn. Fellowship travel grants also need a written commitment to return home for at least two years after the fellowship.

Relatives of trustees, and anyone connected to a trustee's business, cannot apply.

We do not fund

  • Salaries, including fellows' salaries
  • Costs you have already paid
  • Conference travel with no training attached
  • Undergraduate medical school fees
  • Courses or events run by, or that profit, a trustee or a trustee's business
  • Cash paid to individuals: we pay course providers, hosts and hospitals directly
  • Equipment a unit has not asked for in writing
  • Standalone operations outside a teaching camp

How it works

From nomination to report, in five steps

  1. 1

    Check you are eligible

    Read the criteria above and choose one grant or award. One application per person per round.

  2. 2

    Get nominated

    Your nominator fills in a short online form about your work and why the grant matters.

  3. 3

    Apply

    An online form with your CV, a quote for the cost, and 300 words on how this will help your patients.

  4. 4

    A panel decides

    Trustees and Fellows score every application against the four criteria below. Decisions within [number] weeks of the round closing.

  5. 5

    We pay, you report

    We pay the provider directly. Within three months you send a short report, which we publish with your consent.

How we decide

Four questions the panel asks

Any panel member with a connection to an applicant steps out of that decision.

Need

Could you get this training or equipment without us?

Patients

How many patients will be better cared for, and how?

Passing it on

Will you stay, teach others and share what you learn?

Value

Is the cost reasonable for what it achieves?

Questions

Before you apply

Anything else: hello@elsayedfoundation.org

I have no one to nominate me. Can I still apply?

Ask your head of department first. If that is not possible, write to us and we will try to put you in touch with a Fellow who can assess your work.

Do you pay the money to me?

No. We pay the college, course provider, host hospital, airline or landlord directly. This protects you and our donors.

Can I apply for more than one grant?

One application per person per round. You can apply again in a later round.

I have secured a fellowship. When is the travel grant paid?

Once your fellowship, medical registration and visa are all confirmed in writing, and you have signed your commitment to return home for at least two years afterwards. We do not pay salaries.

What if I am not successful?

We tell you why in a few lines, and you can apply again in a later round.

Will my name be published?

We publish who received each grant, with your consent. If you have a reason not to be named, tell us when you apply.

Do I have to pay anything back?

No, as long as the grant is used for what was agreed. If it is not, we may ask for it back.

Which language should I apply in?

English. Your nominator's letter can be in English or Arabic.

Round 1 opens in April 2027.

Register now and we will send you the forms the day it opens.

Tell me when it opens I want to nominate someone