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What You Should Know:
– The Gates Foundation announced a $2.5B commitment through 2030 to accelerate research and development (R&D) focused exclusively on women’s health.
– The investment will support the advancement of more than 40 innovations in five critical, chronically underfunded areas—particularly those affecting women in low- and middle-income countries.
Addressing a Chronically Underfunded Area
Women’s health R&D remains chronically underfunded. Critical issues like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis, and menopause, which together affect hundreds of millions of women, are deeply under-researched. According to a 2021 analysis by McKinsey & Company, just 1% of healthcare research and innovation is invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology.
“For too long, women have suffered from health conditions that are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or ignored,” said Dr. Anita Zaidi, president of the Gates Foundation’s Gender Equality Division. “We want this investment to spark a new era of women-centered innovation—one where women’s lives, bodies, and voices are prioritized in health R&D.”
To help close these persistent funding and research gaps, the foundation is urging governments, philanthropists, investors, and the private sector to co-invest in women’s health innovations, shape product development, and ensure access to treatments for the women and girls who need them most. Dr. Zaidi added, “Women’s health is not just a philanthropic cause—it’s an investable opportunity with immense potential for scientific breakthroughs that could help millions of women. What’s needed is the will to pursue and follow through.”
Five High-Impact Areas of Focus for Women’s Health
The foundation’s investment will advance innovation across five high-impact areas of a woman’s lifespan, selected based on data about where innovation can save and improve the most lives, and direct insights from women in low- and middle-income countries:
- Obstetric care and maternal immunization: Making pregnancy and delivery safer.
- Maternal health and nutrition: Supporting healthier pregnancies and newborns.
- Gynecological and menstrual health: Advancing tools and research to better diagnose, treat, and improve gynecological health and reduce infection risk.
- Contraceptive innovation: Offering more accessible, acceptable, and effective options.
- Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): Improving diagnosis and treatment to reduce disproportionate burdens on women.
Areas of breakthrough potential include research into the vaginal microbiome, first-in-class therapeutics for preeclampsia, and non-hormonal contraception. The commitment also includes investments to support data generation and advocacy, ensuring product uptake and impact upon approval. Research shows every $1 invested in women’s health yields $3 in economic growth, and closing the gender health gap could boost the global economy by $1 trillion per year by 2040.
