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Building a stronger future together: UCB Community Health Fund second call for projects opening May, 15

Picture of author Xavier Hormeachea
Posted by
Xavier Hormaechea, UCB Community Health Fund
10-May-2021
The global pandemic has affected our society deeply physically, socially, and psychologically. The mental health and well-being of whole societies have been impacted. COVID-19-related psychological distress is widespread, with many afraid of the virus itself or of isolation brought about by lockdowns and social distancing. In addition, there are those facing economic insecurity as an added factor. And all the while, misinformation is causing deep uncertainty.

Quantitative and qualitative analysis tells us adolescents and young people are particularly affected. Emotional difficulties felt by young people are being exacerbated by family stress and social isolation, with some facing increased abuse, disrupted education, and uncertainty about their futures.

This is precisely why we focused our second call for projects for our UCB Community Health Fund on the mental health of vulnerable young people aged between 15 and 24. This second call will be open from May 15 until July 15, 2021.

We are looking to contribute a total of approximately €2 Million ($2.4 Million) to support around 40 impact-driven organizations and projects (excluding research projects) aiming to make a positive difference to the mental health of young people with grants of  between €30,000 ($36,000) and €50,000 ($60,000) each.

Our UCB Community Health Fund
We launched the UCB Community Health Fund in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support organizations that are active in communities where we have an office, addressing issues outside of our business scope. The pandemic only reinforced our commitment here at UCB to creating value for patients, now and into the future.

Managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, it aims to address health disparities among vulnerable populations. More specifically, the Fund wants to support young people from the most vulnerable communities where UCB is active, including racial and ethnic minorities, refugees and asylum seekers, those with disabilities and certain health conditions, those facing difficulties due to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and those who are socio-economically disadvantaged.

Our first call for projects, which closed in September 2020, aimed to support organizations and projects contributing to understanding and reducing the medium- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health of vulnerable young people. The response was phenomenal: 170 applications for support projects and 43 applications for research projects from 24 different countries. And we were proud to award a total of EUR 2,4 Million ($3 Million) to 44 inspiring support projects and six inspiring research projects.

The size reflects the huge amount of support that vulnerable populations continue to need. The extent of the health and economic crisis we are living through continues to prove massive, and the journey to recovery will take time. By working together, we will not just recover – we can build a stronger and more resilient future.

Find out more about the 2nd call for projects
•  King Baudoin Foundation (KBF) website
•  UCB Community Health Fund

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