YHP Israel

Location

Hadera, Israel, with recruitment focused on adolescent girls from underserved and peripheral communities across the country.

Timing

2026 – 2028

The local context

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a major health challenge in Israel.1 Many of the behaviours and environmental exposures that influence later health begin during childhood and adolescence.2 National evidence points to unequal exposure to preventable risks: childhood overweight and obesity are reported at particularly high levels among Arab youth.3 Smoking remains common among 15–17-year-olds, with 26.1% reporting smoking at some frequency and 9.6% reporting daily smoking.4

These health inequalities are compounded in peripheral and underserved communities, where young people may have less access to reliable preventive health information, practical science education and visible female role models. Girls who are not enrolled in gifted or excellence tracks can miss opportunities to build health literacy, confidence and interest in science and healthcare.

Our objectives

To improve health equity among adolescent girls from underserved communities by building the health literacy, confidence and agency needed to prevent NCDs and influence healthier choices in their families and communities.

Our focus

Empowering adolescent girls from underserved communities through STEM and medical science education, NCD prevention and youth-led health innovation.

Our programme

Women Leading Science is delivered by AstraZeneca Israel in partnership with Technoda Hadera – The Israeli Museum of Medicine and Science.
It supports girls in grades 7–9, with a focus on participants who are not already in gifted or excellence Programmes.

The Programme will:

  • Recruit adolescent girls from underserved and peripheral communities, with practical support such as transport to help remove barriers to participation.
  • Provide hands-on learning in Technoda’s medical laboratories, simulation facilities and interactive medicine museum.
  • Explore cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and neurological health, and explain how modifiable risk factors contribute to NCDs.
  • Build health literacy around healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco, harmful alcohol use, stress, air pollution and climate-health connections.
  • Connect participants with female mentors from AstraZeneca, healthcare, academia and industry, providing relatable role models and guidance.
  • Use problem-based learning and Design Thinking, supported by storytelling, public speaking and AI tools, to turn knowledge into practical prevention ideas.
  • Bring teams together for a health innovation challenge where they present community-focused solutions to representatives from the health, education and policy sectors.
  • Engage AstraZeneca Israel colleagues as mentors, facilitators and judges, while linking schools and participants with wider health and community stakeholders.

Our targets

Across the two-year Programme, we aim to:

  • Directly reach 150 adolescent girls in grades 7–9.
  • Engage approximately 60 AstraZeneca Israel employee volunteers each year as mentors, facilitators and judges.

Our partners

Technoda Hadera – The Israeli Museum of Medicine and Science is a not-for-profit science education organisation that promotes scientific curiosity, medical understanding and health education among young people. Its facilities include medical laboratories, an interactive medicine museum and a medical simulation unit.

As the Programme’s education and delivery partner, Technoda leads the learning activities, supports recruitment and contributes to Programme evaluation. Its experience in hands-on, inquiry-based education helps girls from underserved communities access practical science and health learning.

Find out more about Technoda Hadera

References:

1. Israeli Ministry of Health, Children and Adolescents – Morbidity Indicators 2017–2022 (November 2024): Ministry of Health report

2. World Health Organization, Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: WHO global action plan

3. Knesset Research and Information Center, Overweight and Obesity: Background and Data, with an Emphasis on Children and Youth (February 2023): Knesset report

4. The Multi-sector Venture for Eradicating Smoking, Characteristics of Smoking in Israel 2025 (July 2026): Smoking in Israel 2025 report