New Grant Program to Help Aussies be Health Smart
nib foundation have announced a new grant program, known as Health Smart Grants, which aims to empower Aussie youth and young adults to make smarter choices when it comes to their health.
Currently in Australia, only 41% of adults have the health literacy levels needed to make positive and informed health choices. The foundation’s new grants program seeks to change this.
nib foundation Executive Officer, Amy Tribe, said they are looking to partner with charities who specialize in better equipping young Aussies with the right health tools and information to make positive health choices and ultimately, reduce the risk of chronic illness.
“The reality is that far too many people in Australia die prematurely or live for many years with poor health and wellbeing related to chronic illnesses and many of these illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and mental health disorders share the same risk factors. The good news is that many of these risks are preventable,” Mrs Tribe said.
“Many of these illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and mental health disorders share the same risk factors. The good news is that many of these risks are preventable, however the sad reality right now is that far too many people in Australia die prematurely or live for many years with poor health and wellbeing related to chronic illnesses,” Ms Tribe said.
“By engaging and empowering Aussies to be more health smart in their everyday lives we hope to help change this by giving people the information and skills they need to better understand health risks and adopt healthy behaviours that will set them up well for life,” she added.
The new grant program features a total funding pool of $320,000 which will be distributed to six charities who will each receive $40,000 in grant funding. nib members and the public will be given the chance to allocate the remaining $80,000 by voting for their favourite two charities to receive an additional funding boost.
“More investment in prevention is needed to improve the health of people across the country. We’re excited to partner with dedicated charities who share our focus and are committed making this change a reality,” Ms Tribe said.
The Health Smart Grants replace nib foundation’s previous Community Grants which for 10 years supported Australian charities focused on improving health and wellbeing outcomes for youth or carers.
The grant program will be open for both local and national charities to submit an Expression of Interest from 1 August – 30 August 2019. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full application from mid-September.
The 2019 Health Smart Grant Guidelines and Expression of Interest form are now available at nib foundation.com.au.
