Else Kröner Fresenius Award for Development Cooperation in Medicine 2026 Focuses on People with Disabilities

Support for German and European projects that improve medical care in developing countries.

Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS – Else Kröner-Fresenius-Foundation) supports medical science and medical-humanitarian aid projects.

The Else Kröner Fresenius Award for Development Cooperation in Medicine honours projects that aim at improving medical care in developing countries.

For the 2026 award, the thematic focus is on the topic of ‘People with disabilities’. The nominated project should be cost-effective and integrated into the existing healthcare structures so that it can be incorporated into the national healthcare system. The project should serve as a model of how people with disabilities could be included in the national healthcare system, whether through health education and awareness-raising or by providing preventive and curative care services. Special consideration will be given to concepts that can be implemented across borders.

Eligible for the award are employees of organisations which implement humanitarian projects. The nominating organisation must be a non-profit or public institution in Germany or a foreign country within Europe (including EFTA countries and the UK).

Applications are welcome from collaborative projects in politically stable countries listed by the OECD DAC. The nominated project should be implemented by local partners in OECD DAC countries or in close cooperation with them and serve as a model for work in this field. The projects that can be honoured are those which have already been running for at least two years, and shall be continued for at least one more year.

The prize is endowed with €250,000.