Applications Invited for MSF South Asia: Without Borders Media Fellowship 2025-2026 Cohort

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About the Organization

Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. MSF offers assistance to people based on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of neutrality and impartiality. Our mandate concerns emergency relief, and the principles we honour while carrying out our work are contained in the MSF Charter.

About the Fellowship

MSF is opening the call for proposals by journalists, photographers, filmmakers, and newsrooms editors to join the 2025-2026 cohort of the Without Borders Media Fellowship. This Fellowship aims to encourage humanitarian and health related journalistic reporting, and leverages scientific storytelling to draw attention to emerging local or cross-border issues in the South Asia region. Journalists awarded with this fellowship are expected to produce at least one in-depth report by engaging with affected populations and stakeholders. The fellows will have an opportunity to work closely with mentors, who are experts and thought leaders in journalism and public health, as well as medical and operations specialists from the MSF movement.

Stories from the heart of crises give a voice to vulnerable people, support medical and humanitarian advocacy, and encourage dialogue on humanitarian values. Awarded fellows will be encouraged to work together, build communities of practice, and support humanitarian actors to better understand crises and contexts, while working with compassion.

There are three grant categories available for applicants to choose from:

• General Grant (applicants can choose from a range of themes)
• The General Grant supports in-depth reporting across five themes:
• Tuberculosis
• HIV
• Health Impact of Climate Change
• Women’s Health
• Impact of Caste on Health

This grant will enable journalists to highlight and investigate a range of transversal subjects in South Asia through training, insightful storytelling and extensive field exposure. Successful applicants receive a grant to cover reporting costs and get access to experts to enrich the reporting process.

• MSF-DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative) Grant on Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and Gender Responsive R&D (ONLY OPEN TO APPLICANTS FROM INDIA, NEPAL, BANGLADESH AND SRI LANKA)

The MSF-DNDi Grant focuses on raising awareness and fostering a better understanding of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). NTDs such as dengue, lymphatic filariasis, leishmaniasis and mycetoma affect millions of people in South Asia. These diseases are driven by factors like poverty, poor sanitation, lack of adequate treatment and limited healthcare access. This grant is aimed at exploring the complexities of NTDs from the lens of gender, pediatrics and climate change. It emphasizes the need for targeted interventions such as safe, affordable and effective treatment and improved healthcare infrastructure.

The grant will also focus on critical issues surrounding gender equity in clinical trials, the intersection of gender, climate, and infectious diseases highlighting the systemic challenges faced by women in health research and the urgent need for actionable strategies to address these disparities. Recipients receive financial support for reporting expenses and access to DNDi experts to generate comprehensive reportage.

• MSF-GARDP (The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership) Grant on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) (Open to Applicants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Nepal.)

AMR occurs when bacteria naturally develop resistance to antibiotics, rendering them increasingly ineffective. As a result, infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. AMR is already one of the world’s biggest killers, with 4.71 million associated deaths each year. As per the recent findings of the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) study, AMR-related mortality has remained relatively stable in recent decades, but a sharp rise is now expected, with the number of AMR-related deaths increasing by more than 70% by 2050. The MSF-GARDP grant on AMR is aimed at delving deeper into the issue of AMR, the steps we need to take today to bend the curve on AMR and how different stakeholders can play their part in tackling the challenge posed by antimicrobial resistance. Recipients shall receive financial support for reporting expenses and access to GARDP experts to generate comprehensive reportage.

Who can Apply

MSF welcomes applications from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Nepal:

• Journalists of all nationalities and from diverse backgrounds, including staff reporters, photographers, radio/audio journalists, and television/video journalists working in print, television, online media (including YouTube), as well as freelancers based in the countries above.
• Applications must be submitted in English. However, applicants are encouraged to additionally publish their stories in local languages of their region.

Selection Criteria:

• Reporting proposals must be grounded in significant public health or humanitarian crises, in the countries mentioned above.
• Proposals must align with MSF's work, social mission, and values.
• Current relevance of the story pitch.
• Innovative storytelling idea that has the potential to bring new insights to an issue.
• A minimum of 3 years of professional experience is required for applicants.
• Former fellows are eligible to apply.

How to Apply

Applications are open from 15th May – 30th June, 2025. To apply click here

Application:

As the selection for the Without Borders Media Fellowship is competitive, we ask applicants to provide:

• Story Proposal: MSF expects a concrete proposal including Title of the Proposal, location(s) of reporting, well-researched pitch with references (data, news story, examples) to add context (500-750 words).
• Medium of publication: Print, Digital, TV, Podcast
• Letter of commitment or interest from a media organization(s) that would publish your story(ies) Names and contacts of two professional references.
• Reporting plan: Applicants must share a detailed reporting plan that lists out the preferred start and end dates of the fellowship, field visit dates, locations, risks involved (legal and physical) etc. Pre-reporting by the applicant on the subject will be of advantage to the application.
• List of stakeholders (institutions, organizations, collectives and individuals) that you will contact for information or insight during the reporting process of the Fellowship.
• Three examples (links) of your most relevant stories (to the pitch) published recently.
• List of collaborators in this story, if any (for example stringers, data scientists, illustrators, photographers etc.)
• Tentative date of publication of this story.
• Statement of Motivation (300 words)
• CV or Resume.
• Contact details of two professional references.

For more information please check the Link

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