Changemaking starts at any age.

This summer, Devex and Johnson & Johnson assembled some of the youngest changemakers in healthcare from across the globe at Devex World 2018. Totaling ten in all, these J&J Fellows’ fresh perspectives and social innovations are taking global healthcare in new directions. And, moving forward, it will likely be these faces at the forefront of global development efforts in the decades to come.

As young people from diverse backgrounds, J&J fellows know that creating change isn’t easy. And yet, here they are. After standing witness to many of the healthcare struggles around the world — refugee displacement, lack of proper sexual education and inadequate medical knowledge — Patience, Abdul, Nick, Trang, and Aya took action. Now they are calling other young people to do the same.

In the video below, five members of the inaugural class of J&J fellows share their insights on how other young people can begin making waves, and what these millennials hope the future will look like.

Scroll down to meet the fellows. (View on mobile here)

Originally from Botswana, Patience studied biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. She led the technical redesign of the suits worn by Ebola healthcare workers, revolutionizing healthcare protective equipment.

After losing his aunt to cancer, Abdul founded the Zurak Cancer Foundation, aimed at educating people in Ghana about cancer. The Foundation runs a program to test women for cervical cancer in two districts of Accra, using specialized training tools.

Nick runs the Paradigm Youth Organization in the slums and rural outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. Working to improve health and hygiene for women, he most recently created an artificial intelligence mobile app to privately answer pressing health questions.  

Originally a social worker in Vietnam, Trang now conducts PhD research to promote LGBTQ inclusivity within Vietnamese social workers’ practices and attitudes. Trang’s activism also amplifies young Vietnamese women’s experiences through a published e-book and an ongoing lesbian and transgender blog.

Aya co-founded All Girls Code, an initiative that introduces girls in Lebanon to STEM fields. Beyond striving to include refugees in her work and being appointed Google Women Techmaker, Aya is developing a TeensWhoCode community.