- The project was selected from 586 applications from 93 countries and will be presented in February at the United Nations Office in Vienna.
- The announcement of this international award coincides with December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, thus reinforcing the need to move towards more accessible, inclusive and humanized public systems.
Fundación Personas has been distinguished with the Zero Project Award 2026one of the most prestigious international awards in the field of accessibility and social innovation. The award highlights the impact and scalability of the ASI (Integral Health Care) Program, a pioneering model in Spain that transforms public health care to make it accessible, equitable and truly focused on people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism (ASD).
This year, the Zero Project evaluated 586 nominations from 93 countries through an exhaustive selection process that involved more than 350 hours of review and the participation of more than 400 experts from around the world. Only 75 innovative solutions from 51 countries have been awarded in this edition.
THE PROGRAM AS FOLLOWS
The ASI Program is promoted by Fundación Personas, but has become a reality thanks to the commitment of the Río Hortega University Hospital in Valladolid, the Department of Health of the Regional Government of Castilla y León and the health and social professionals who make it up, whose coordinated work has made it possible to consolidate the model within the public system. The ASI serves 3,000 people a year, has trained 2,200 professionals and will be presented in February at the United Nations Office in Vienna.
The ASI Program was born in 2016 as a result of a participatory process with families, healthcare professionals, social entities and people with disabilities, who directly identified the cognitive, communicative and organizational barriers that hindered access to adequate care in the healthcare system.
The ASI is based on three structural principles that define its identity and impact: the right to health under equal conditions, ensuring that all people receive care adapted to their needs; cognitive accessibility as a standard at all levels of care, facilitating understanding, communication and interaction with the healthcare system; and socio-healthcare coordination, which guarantees continuity, coherence and quality of care throughout the entire healthcare process.
To make this possible, the program deploys a set of innovative tools that are already part of the ordinary functioning of the healthcare system of Castilla y León: the ASI Card, automatic alerts in the electronic medical records of patients, personalized care protocols, understandable signage and QR support, accessible forms and easy-to-read materials, and the key figure of the nurse case manager, who accompanies and coordinates the entire care pathway of the person.
This international recognition reinforces the leadership of Castilla y León in humanized public policies, since the ASI Program is fully integrated in the Plan Persona of the Junta de Castilla y León and has consolidated an average satisfaction rating of more than 8.9/10 among users and families.
In addition to the impact generated, the ASI has demonstrated a high potential for replicability, one of the essential criteria of the Zero Project, and has already been presented at national and international congresses as a benchmark of best practices to move towards a more humane and accessible public health system aligned with the rights of people with disabilities.
This award comes just a few weeks after the ASI Program received the 1st SUPERCUIDADORES 2025 Award, in the Third Sector category, consolidating the trajectory of the project and opening the door to new steps for its future expansion and evolution.
“It is a source of pride that a program born in Castilla y León is recognized among the best innovations in the world. This award validates the joint work of families, healthcare professionals, hospitals and health centers, public administrations and social entities to remove barriers and make the right to health on equal terms a reality,” said Daniel Clavero, CEO of Fundación Personas.
Fundación Personas will present the ASI Program as a speaker at the Zero Project Conference 2026 (#ZeroCon26), to be held from February 18 to 20 at the United Nations Office in Vienna, an event that will bring together more than 1,000 participants from around 100 countries.
About Fundación Personas
Fundación Personas is a reference entity in Castilla y León with a social base of 3000 families and dedicated to the care of people with intellectual disabilities. Founded in 2008 by five associations in the region with more than 60 years of history (Adecas Guardo, Aspanis Palencia, Apadefim Segovia, Asprona Valladolid and Asprosub Zamora), its purpose is to accompany people at all stages of their lives, providing the necessary individualized support, allowing them to develop their life project in a full and satisfactory way, with a vocation for social transformation. It has more than 2,000 professionals and provides daily assistance to 2,500 people with disabilities in 140 localities and 100 operational centers throughout Castilla y León.
