For eight years, the Doximity Foundation has provided financial support for U.S. doctors partnering with health organizations around the world. So far this year, we've supported 633 clinician trips to 59 countries from Ghana to Guatemala, where they provide essential, and sometimes lifesaving, care to countless patients.
Applications for funding sharply increased this year. Last month, we crossed $1m in travel grants, more than all of 2025 combined. In fact, 2026 already accounts for more than 35% of the trips funded in the entire lifetime of the Foundation.
Since its inception, the Foundation has covered flights for 1,776 global health trips across 82 countries, with Africa and Central America being the biggest destinations. The Foundation has also supported clinicians traveling to Navajo Nation sites in New Mexico and Arizona, highlighting the fact that medically underserved communities exist close to home as well as on the other side of the world.
Why more and more doctors are seeking funding
While several factors may be contributing to the jump in private funding needed for global health work, non-profits tell us that current and future funding cuts from the U.S. government are chief among them. The dissolution of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the termination of $12.7b in funding awards led to staff layoffs and scaling back of programs for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). This reality has forced global health NGOs to seek alternative funding and strategic collaborations to continue their impact.
Getting back to the practice of medicine
Too often, the paperwork and bureaucracy of medicine can get between a doctor and delivering the care they know their patients need. The frustration this causes is one of the reasons that medical professionals consider leaving the profession.
In addition to offering care to under-resourced communities, global health work frees physicians from those non-clinical tasks for a week or two. Time after time returning clinicians tell us how the experience reminded them why they went into medicine.
The data appears to back this up. In a 2024 review, researchers found that clinical volunteering could prevent burnout for clinicians by reconnecting them with their sense of purpose. In the words of a recent participant, Kennett Tran, NP: "We leave with tired bodies, full hearts, and a deep sense of gratitude."
Making it easy for physicians to fly
Air fares are one of the biggest barriers to doctors participating in global health trips. The combination of increasing costs of living, rising cost of travel, and reduced funding makes air fare a real barrier.
The Doximity Foundation makes that barrier go away.
Once one of our members applies and is approved, Doximity takes care of the rest. No receipts to chase. No reimbursement hassle. No waiting to be made whole.
It takes a village
Doximity plays just a small part in getting clinicians to the communities that need them most. We're proud to work with organizations like Operation International, ReSurge International, AMPATH Kenya, Health Volunteers Overseas, and OneWorld Health which run the programs spanning everything from surgical capacity and training to building systems that continue providing support long after clinicians return home.
In the scale of the medical needs around the world, there will always be more that we can do. We're proud to have helped doctors reconnect with why they chose the path of medicine and, in the process, provide care to thousands of patients globally.
If you're a physician or advanced practice provider (APP) with a trip on the calendar, apply for a grant. If you run a global health program and want to talk about taking flight costs off your volunteers' plates, please reach out.
Learn more about the Doximity Foundation
The Foundation is one part of Doximity.org, where five initiatives invest in clinician well-being and the health of underserved communities through volunteerism, innovation, and funding.
Click here to read about recent trips funded by the Doximity Foundation.