GSK IMPACT Award Winners 2026 - The Rainbow Project

Why It Matters

The Rainbow Project tackles entrenched health disparities and legal gaps for LGBT+ people in Northern Ireland, demonstrating a scalable model of community-led care and policy advocacy that could improve outcomes and influence legislation elsewhere. Its work with mainstream partners like Macmillan highlights how targeted collaboration can close service gaps for marginalized groups.

Summary

The Rainbow Project, GSK IMPACT Award Winner 2026, is a Northern Ireland LGBT+ charity delivering culturally informed health, counseling and youth services amid a challenging political environment. The organization staffs largely LGBT+ workers—about half with trans experience—and runs targeted programs from trans swimming groups to sexual health clinics. It has partnered with Macmillan on a Cancer Champions initiative to address screening gaps and poor cancer outcomes among LGBT+ people, and is actively campaigning for a ban on conversion practices and for hate-crime protections for transgender people. Leaders say their aim is to normalize inclusion to the point that specialist services are no longer needed.

Original Description

The Rainbow Project are a LGBTQIA+ charity changing lives for LGBTQIA+ people and their families in Northern Ireland through tailored health and wellbeing services that mitigate the impact of discrimination, as well as training, campaigning and policy work to eliminate its root causes.

Find out more about the GSK IMPACT Awards: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/projects/gsk/impact-awards

Find out more about the 2026 winners: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/projects/gsk/2026-gsk-impact-award-winners