The Young Lions Health Award is how young creatives can make a difference – firstly to their own career paths and secondly to health in developing countries.

Lions Health, UNICEF and Unilever have created the new competition for young creatives to improve challenges facing global health systems in developing countries.

This is the background: One of UNICEF’s most perplexing challenges in its undertaking to help children survive and thrive is creating the awareness that health is not just about supplies or specific initiatives – but about creating a more sustainable system that reaches every child with basic, lifesaving health services. Effective health systems are not just about providing medicines, doctors, and facilities, they are also about getting messages into communities and educating families about the importance of seeking care and support.

To date, communications around child health have been fragmented and divided into silos, such as sanitation, HIV and vaccination, preventing an integrated approach in generating awareness and support.

This is the competition: The Young Lions Award is asking young creatives to develop compelling campaigns to address this challenge. UNICEF will use the winning campaign as the basis for engaging the general public to advocate and mobilise support for better, child-focused health systems.

Are you eligible to enter: Communication and marketing professionals under the age of 30 are invited to submit their campaign concepts online from February 25.

Speaking at the event, Philip Thomas, chief executive officer of Lions Festivals, stated that “as organisers of a global annual awards and Festival for creative excellence in pharma and healthcare & wellness, it was a natural move to introduce an award that will help propel and showcase young industry talent.”

The Young Lions Health Awards has been given its own jury:

• Andrew Spurgeon, executive creative director, Langland
• Ashley Schofield, executive creative director, CDM Princeton
• Claudia Gonzalez Romo, chief of public advocacy, UNICEF
• June Laffey, executive creative director, McCann Health Sydney
• Keith Weed, chief marketing & communications officer, Unilever
• Dr Mickey Chopra, chief of health and associate director of programmes, UNICEF
• Rob Rogers, chief creative officer and co-CEO, the Americas, Sudler
• Shaheed Peera, executive creative director EU, Publicis Life Brands Resolute

The winners of the Young Lions Health Award will be presented at the official awards ceremony for Lions Health oin Cannes, June 19-20.

Everything you need to know to enter is here.