The National Press Foundation (NPF), a nonprofit journalism training organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., in the United States of America, has opened applications for its 2026 Rare Disease Reporting Fellowship and Grants, offering professional journalists worldwide free online training and reporting grants of up to US$2,000 to support journalism on rare diseases.
The five-day fellowship, titled “Leveraging the Promise of Biotechnology for Rare Disease Patients and Families Worldwide,” will take place online from November 16 to 20, 2026. The application deadline is October 22, 2026.
The programme is the fifth in a series of rare-disease journalism fellowships organised by the Foundation with support from Fondation Ipsen, a Paris-based nonprofit focused on rare diseases, detection, inclusion, and disability.
According to the NPF, the fellowship is designed to help journalists increase public understanding of rare diseases and report on persistent gaps in healthcare infrastructure, policy, and access to treatment.
The Foundation noted that an estimated 300 million people worldwide live with one of more than 7,000 confirmed rare diseases, creating a significant need for greater public visibility, research, and policy attention.
The training will feature on-the-record briefings and question-and-answer sessions with experts and experienced journalists, while topics will include rare-disease research in Africa, artificial intelligence-driven drug development, childhood genetic testing and screening, and the need for more inclusive clinical trials.
Participants will also hear from leaders of global patient-advocacy organisations and journalists experienced in covering rare diseases.
In addition to the training, NPF will provide up to US$2,000 each to 20 journalists to support reporting projects on rare diseases.
Journalists who qualify for the reporting grants will receive US$1,000 after completing the fellowship and a further US$1,000 after submitting their completed work. The reporting project must be published no later than March 1, 2027.
The grants are intended to help journalists cover travel and other costs associated with producing a rare-disease reporting project of their choice.
The fellowship is open to professional journalists based in any country and working in any medium, including print, broadcast, online, and social media.
Journalists may work in any language, but applicants must be fluent in English, as the fellowship sessions will be conducted in English and attendance at all training sessions is mandatory.
The sessions will run from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Time each day from November 16 to 20.
Employed journalists are required to submit a letter of support from their editor confirming that they will be allowed four hours away from their regular duties each day to participate fully in the fellowship, while freelance journalists must provide a letter from an editor indicating an interest in publishing their proposed reporting on rare diseases.
For journalists who receive reporting grants, completed stories will first be published by their chosen media outlets before being reproduced in a compilation book produced by Fondation Ipsen.
The Foundation has previously produced a compilation of work by its 2023 rare-disease journalism fellows, which is available for free online.
Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 22, 2026.
The Foundation said that although the training is sponsored by Fondation Ipsen, it retains responsibility for the programme’s content.
More information about the fellowship programme is available at https://nationalpress.org/training/apply-2026-rare-disease-reporting-fellowship-and-grants/.
For questions or technical assistance during the application process, applicants may contact Celia Milch at celia@nationalpress.org.
Applications can be submitted at https://bit.ly/4d9sAdO.
