• All nominations must be submitted through the REACH Awards online portal.
• Candidates must be nominated by a third-party nominator; candidates who nominate themselves will not be considered.
• Nominators may nominate multiple nominees.
• Nominees may only be considered for one (1) award category.

• The nomination process is open to the public as long as the nominator has direct knowledge of the nominated individual’s work and contributions in the field of disease elimination and/or COVID-19 response, and/or a climate and health crisis response.
• Nominators should not belong to the same institution as the nominee but are expected to have a professional, academic or administrative relationship with the nominee.
• Candidates must be nominated by a third-party nominator; candidates who nominate themselves, a colleague or a supervisor will not be considered.

Nominees should meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Nominees must be individuals and will be accepted from organizations in any part of the world, including non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, international organizations, government agencies and academic institutions.
• Nominees may be any age, but preference will be given to young leaders (under age 35) for the Rising Champion Award.
• During the application process, nominators, nominees and evaluators will be required to confirm that they have read and understand the 2023 REACH awards statutes, and acknowledge that any information submitted will be subject to and handled in accordance with such provisions.
• Each nominee may only be considered for one (1) award category.
• No person can nominate herself/himself for the REACH Awards
• Nominees must be working in the field of human disease elimination and/or in the COVID-19 response and/or in a climate and health crisis response in low or middle income settings but may come from any sector (civil society, academia, private sector, medicine, etc.) This may include efforts to eliminate transmission or eliminate a disease as a public health threat.
  • Elimination of transmission entails reduction to zero of the incidence of infection caused by a specific pathogen in a defined geographical area, with minimal risk of reintroduction, as a result of deliberate efforts; continued actions to prevent re-establishment of transmission may be required.
  • Elimination as a public health problem encompasses both infection and disease. It is defined by achievement of measurable global targets set by WHO in relation to a specific disease. When reached, continued actions are required to maintain the targets and/or to advance the interruption of transmission.
  • COVID-19 response may include all preventive, diagnostic and treatment activities implemented by healthcare workers.
  • Response to climate and health crises may include, but is not limited to, extreme weather events, emergence/reemergence of climate-related diseases, and access to health for climate migrants.
  • Eligible disease areas may include but are not limited to: poliomyelitis, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Malaria, Tuberculosis and pandemics (e.g. Ebola, SARS, Zika).
• Nominees must be able to travel to the UAE for the Reaching the Last Mile global health forum.
• The Presidential Court’s decision on applicant eligibility is final.

Candidates may be nominated for one of the following award categories:

• The Climate-Health Action Award celebrates an individual responding to climate-related health challenges and disasters, including but not limited to, extreme weather events, emergence/reemergence of climate-related diseases, and access to health for climate migrants.
• The Frontline Exemplar Award celebrates an exceptional individual who played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating remarkable courage and dedication to keep others safe.
• The Unsung Hero Award aims to honor and celebrate an extraordinary individual who has played a transformative, frontline role in the field of disease elimination, and has been under-recognized for his or her efforts until this point.
• The Game Changing Innovator Award recognizes an individual who has developed and implemented a creative technology or practice in support of disease elimination that has benefitted low-income communities. Innovators may have developed a new technology or product or implemented a new delivery method or process. The solutions must be in mid- to late-stage development in order to show some evidence of impact.
• The Rising Champion Award celebrates an individual who is championing a cause related to disease elimination. Nominees should be focused on influencing health policy within their respective country through advocacy activities. Examples of activities include: traditional media (news) and social media campaigns, grassroots organizing, outreach to policymakers, organizing events or fundraising
• The Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual who has dedicated his or her career to disease elimination. This respected individual will be selected directly by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and is not open for external nomination. The honoree must demonstrate outstanding leadership in the field of disease elimination, resulting in measurable results and long-term impact for affected communities, and have inspired others to take action.

For 2023, the Frontline Exemplar Award and the Climate-Health Action Award are both new categories, denoting the significance of those who worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the increasing interconnectedness of health and climate.

• Nominators will submit a short nomination form through the online nomination portal.
• Nominees will be contacted shortly after nomination and invited to submit additional information to complete their application within three weeks. Members of the jury will convene to select awardees.
• Awardees will be invited to attend the Reaching the Last Mile global health forum in Dubai in December 2023 to receive the award.

• The rigorous nomination and review process is a cornerstone of the REACH Awards, designed to attract nominations from world-class champions of disease elimination and ultimately select the highest performing, extraordinary individuals as the awardees.
• The review process incorporates technical experts and esteemed global health leaders as judges, allowing for expert opinion to guide the final selection of awardee.
• The process will be completed in five (5) steps: nominations, nominee submissions, selection of finalists, selection of awardees by an esteemed jury and announcement of awardees.

• Awardees will be publicly announced at the Reaching the Last Mile Forum in Dubai in December 2023.

• From boots-on-the-ground innovators to local community health workers, the REACH awards aim to celebrate critical contributions from those on the front lines of disease elimination.
• The awards underscore the belief of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that no one should die from preventable diseases and that the ability for people to live a healthy life is a key driver of development, which leads to stable, prosperous societies.

• One awardee will be selected for each category.