November 2025

Dear friends,

Stories like Ines’ remind us why our work is so important. But we cannot do our work without your support. In a world where funding for global health has been suddenly and dramatically cut, we rely on the generosity of our community to keep going. Will you help health workers like Ines Musabyemariya improve and save the lives of the patients relying on their care?

Sincerely,

April

April Pinner, MSPH, RD

Executive Director

An investment in HVO is an investment in health workers, their communities, and their patients. 

Watch the video to hear why people choose to support HVO.

New Internal Medicine Project

Health Volunteers Overseas recently launched a virtual internal medicine project with Aksum University’s College of Health Science in Aksum, Ethiopia. Volunteers will enhance the capacity of the Department of Internal Medicine at Aksum University by providing subspecialty training to residents in the areas of cardiology, gastroenterology, and neurology through online lectures and case discussions. There is also an opportunity for volunteers to serve virtually as mentors and to support the professional development of internal medicine residents.

We are seeking volunteers who are board eligible/certified in their specialty with several years of experience. Teaching experience preferred. For more information, contact Natalie Cary.

AFSH Applications Open

HVO is accepting applications for the 2025 American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand - Health Volunteers Overseas Young Surgeon Traveling Fellowship. Fellows receive funding to defray the cost of airfare, room, and board for a two-to-four-week volunteer trip to an appropriate HVO teaching site. Eligible applicants include surgeons who are currently in a hand fellowship program or who have completed their fellowship within the last four years. Applicants should not have been in practice for more than five years and must be a US or Canadian citizen.

All applications must be received by close of business US Eastern Time on December 12, 2025.

This fellowship is available due to a generous grant from the American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand (AFSH).

To learn more and apply, visit our website or click here to access the application directly. Questions can be emailed to Natalie Cary.

Apply for a 2026 SEA-HVO Fellowship

Applications for the Society for Education in Anesthesia (SEA) – Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) Traveling Fellowships are being accepted as of October 15th, 2025. All applications must be received by close of business US Eastern Time on January 26th, 2026.

The applicant must have completed two years of anesthesia training and be in an ACGME accredited anesthesia residency program at the time of travel overseas. The award will be presented, in person, at the annual SEA meeting (April 24th – 26th, 2026) in St. Louis, Missouri. HVO will coordinate plans for the overseas assignment to occur prior to the end of the resident's training. Round trip travel to the site will be funded and a stipend given to help defray living expenses, cost of travel insurance, visas etc.

For more information, visit our website or click here to access the application details directly.

Golden Apple Nominations

The HVO Golden Apple Award recognizes extraordinary contributions to HVO’s mission, organization, and project sites. Anyone who knows of an HVO contributor’s work is welcome to nominate them for the recognition.

Volunteer Opportunities

Dermatology, Uganda is recruiting volunteers to provide virtual teaching and consultation in pediatric dermatology, cosmetic dermatology, dermatopathology, and modern dermatotherapy. Interested volunteers should contact Natalie Cary. 

Internal Medicine, Cambodia (Kampot) is recruiting in-person volunteers specializing in endocrinology, geriatrics, and rheumatology. Interested volunteers should contact  Natalie Cary. 

Nursing Education, Nepal is recruiting nurse educators to provide hybrid or in-person training in nurse leadership and interdepartmental communication. Interested volunteers should contact Emily Dalton.

Oncology, Honduras is recruiting in-person volunteers with experience in surgical or gynecologic oncology to provide teaching and training. Interested volunteers should contact Lauren Franklin.

Oral Health, Tanzania is recruiting dentists for in-person and virtual assignments to support didactic lectures, clinical training, and curriculum development. Priority specialties include endodontics, surgical endodontics, periodontics, surgical periodontics, implantology, restorative dentistry (including cosmetic), orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, oral surgery, and digital dentistry. Interested volunteers should contact Lauren Franklin.

Oral Health, Uganda is recruiting pediatric dentists for in-person assignments to support didactic lectures, clinical training, and curriculum development, with interest in research. Interested volunteers should contact Lauren Franklin.

Rehabilitation, Ghana is recruiting in-person volunteers with expertise in pediatric, neurologic, or musculoskeletal rehabilitation to provide hands-on and didactic training. Interested volunteers should contact Emily Dalton.

Each year, the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) and Global Health NOW from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health holds the Untold Stories of Global Health Contest.

“CUGH and GHN share the goal of raising awareness about health issues around the world. We invite you to nominate an issue you feel deserves urgent attention, whether you’ve worked on it firsthand or come across it in your travels. The best nominations for the Untold Stories focus on a specific issue in a specific location (i.e., not global chronic disease) and should include available data and evidence, as well as contact information.”

For more information, visit the contest web page here.