Despite India’s official elimination of leprosy in 2005, Jharkhand remains a high-burden state, reporting 7.8% of India’s new cases despite representing only 3% of the population. The 21 target districts account for 90% of the state’s cases, with delayed diagnosis leading to preventable disabilities. Stigma, weak referral systems, and limited rehabilitation services continue to affect people affected by leprosy.
Healthcare in regions of Ukraine near the front line has been reduced to the bare minimum. Patients with serious illnesses seek treatment at the opposite end of the country. The municipal hospitals of the First Medical Union in Lviv (western Ukraine) are among the top facilities which cancer patients turn to. For instance, the number of patients undergoing chemotherapy has nearly tripled in two years, while the number of patients with blood cancers has more than doubled.
Botswana’s maternal mortality ratio is 175.5 per 100,000 live births, well above the SDG target of fewer than 70. Over half of pregnancies are unintended, with adolescents accounting for over 40%. Rural and economically disadvantaged populations are disproportionately affected. Given Botswana’s restrictive abortion laws, limited access to effective contraception increases the risks of unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and preventable maternal deaths.
The mental health burden in the Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts is severe and persistent, driven by insecurity, repeated attacks, and ongoing protection risks. According to the 2025 WHO survey, more than 70% of adults reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, or severe stress during the previous year, with internally displaced persons, returnees, women and people with disabilities being disproportionately affected. Nearly 10 million people are expected to develop a mental health condition, including 3.9 million with moderate to severe cases.
The prize will be awarded to an outreach project that serves 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.
Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect children from preventable diseases and death. Yet in southern Madagascar, many children still grow up without this protection. In remote communities, long distances, poverty and weak health structures make access to care even harder. During the first SOAMEVA phase, more than 213,000 zero-dose children under five were identified across 16 districts, showing the urgent need to strengthen local immunisation and primary care systems.
Stroke and cardiovascular disease cause many deaths and long-term disability in Madagascar. At the same time, access to prevention, acute care and rehabilitation remains highly limited, especially in the south. Hypertension, the leading risk factor, is often detected and treated too late. Many people live far from health facilities, and high treatment costs create an additional barrier to seeking care early.
Between 1996 and 2022, Nepal saw a significant reduction in under-5, infant and neonatal mortality. However in the last decade, progress has slowed and neonatal survival has flatlined. An increasing proportion of maternal, newborn and paediatric mortality occurs among severe illness cases requiring referral to and treatment at secondary level hospitals, where the quality of clinical care is suboptimal.
Pregnancy and childbirth remain high-risk for many women in southern Madagascar. Many live far from the nearest health facility, transport is often unavailable, and treatment costs often exceed what families can afford. Many facilities also face staff shortages, lack of equipment and shortages of essential medicines. As a result, births frequently take place at home without medical support. Complications that could be treated with timely care can become life-threatening there.
