The Hack for Health Equity 2026 is an international initiative designed to turn global health challenges into scalable solutions. Organized by Young AI Leaders (Madrid & Linz Hubs and Young WFPHA, this international hackathon challenges students, researchers, and early-career professionals from diverse disciplines to build real-world tools for public health equity.

🚨 Mandatory Steps to Compete

  • Read your Mails: Announcements, Official Communication, ...
  • Submit your Project before 3:30 pm CET on Sunday 29.03.
  • Join the final meeting and pitch at 4:30 pm CET on Sunday 29.03.

🎯 Challenge Categories

Aligned with UN SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality).

  • Public Health: Prevention, health promotion, surveillance, and system-level interventions.
  • Mental Health: Community-based, digital, or hybrid approaches to prevention, early intervention, and care.
  • Media for Health: Innovative use of digital tools to improve health literacy, trust, and behavioral change.
  • Obesity: Prevention-oriented, population-level, and equity-sensitive approaches.

📅 Key Dates & Timeline

All time information shared in text during the hackathon is based on Central European Time (CET). Please make sure to convert them to your local time accurately. Warning, on Sunday 29.03 at 3 am, the time zone is shifted back by 1h.

You can find all the information about the event timeline on our event calendar. Please select your timezone on the bottom right. Then, all the time is converted automatically to your location.
https://teamup.com/ksma2y52s3w4wagd77

🏆Awards & Opportunities

  • Global Stages: Winners may present at the World Health Assembly (Geneva) or WFPHA Global Meeting (Cape Town).
  • Tech Credits: Build with premium access to Lovable, n8n, and ElevenLabs.
  • Elite Mentorship: Guidance from Public Health and AI industry veterans.
  • Exposure: Direct access to global stakeholders, NGOs, and investors.

Requirements

📤 Deliverables

All projects must be uploaded to Devpost before 15:30 PM.
Required fields:

  1. Project Name & One-line Pitch.
  2. Clear description including all aspects of the project, what it does, why it is important, how it works, what was done before the hackathon weekend, ...
  3. PDF Presentation (Wide format).
    • Page 1: Project Name, Team Name, and Team Members' Names.
    • Architecture Slide: how does it work; ideally a visual diagram of your software architecture/technologies used/user workflow...
    • Screenshots: Show your Project/Website.
  4. Demo Link
  5. Screenshots or Videos of your Project/Website

 

🗣 The Pitch

Teams will present live via Zoom with screen sharing from their own device.

  • Format: 3 minutes for the presentation + 2 minutes for Q&A with the jury.
    You will be able to show your screen and use the 3 min however you like. Most good pitches include a presentation and a live demo/video of a demo of the project.

Make sure you clearly, compactly, and convincingly communicate:

  • What is your Project/Idea? What does it do?
  • Why is it important? Problems it solves, positive impact, ...
  • How does it work? Architecture/Tool Visualization, Proof of Concept, ...
To-dos
  • Everything in Englisch
  • Use your time effectively
  • Make it interesting, engaging, visually appealing, ...
  • Connect to real problems, use cases, ...
  • Show the impact potential (e.g. statistics, studies, ...)
Not To-dos
  • Introduction of all team members
  • "My presentation has the chapters ..."
  • Repeat yourself unnecessarily
  • Overpromise or Misrepresent what your prototype can actually do (e.g. claiming you built something yourself thats done by an existing API)

 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

4 non-cash prizes
Presentation at World Federation of Public Health Associations
1 winner

One winning project may be selected to present at the global meeting of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) in Cape Town.

Presentation at World Health Assembly Side Event
1 winner

Winning teams will be invited to present their projects in front of world-leading experts during a dedicated side event of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva.

3 Month Professional Mentoring
1 winner

Winning Teams will receive 3 Months of Expert Mentoring to make the most of their project and prepare it for the Conferences.

AI Credits
1 winner

Winning Teams will receive AI and Tech Credits for further project development.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Judging Criteria

  • Innovation & Originality
  • Problem Relevance
  • Impact Potential
  • Technological Robustness & Feasibility
  • Scalability & Sustainability
  • Team Skills & Execution
  • Metrics & Evaluation
  • Risk Management

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Tell your friends

Hackathon sponsors

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