The Gates Foundation has announced an investment of $2.5bn through to 2030, dedicated to expediting research and development (R&D) with a focus on improving women’s health globally.
This initiative will support the advancement of more than 40 innovations targeting five critical and chronically underfunded areas, particularly affecting women in low and middle-income nations.
Gates Foundation gender equality division president Dr Anita Zaidi stated: 鈥淔or too long, women have suffered from health conditions that are misunderstood, misdiagnosed or ignored. We want this investment to spark a new era of women-centred innovation 鈥� one where women’s lives, bodies and voices are prioritised in health R&D.
鈥淭his is the largest investment we’ve ever made in women鈥檚 health research and development, but it still falls far short of what is needed in a neglected and underfunded area of huge human need and opportunity.
鈥淲omen鈥檚 health is not just a philanthropic cause 鈥� it鈥檚 an investable opportunity with immense potential for scientific breakthroughs that could help millions of women.鈥�
According to a 2021 analysis by McKinsey & Company, only 1% of healthcare R&D investment is allocated to female-specific conditions beyond oncology.
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By GlobalDataTo address these persistent funding and research gaps, the foundation is calling on philanthropists, governments, investors, and the private sector to jointly make investments in women’s health innovations, contribute to product development and ensure that treatments reach girls and the women who need them.
The foundation’s investment seeks to address this disparity by advancing innovation across high-impact areas such as obstetric care and maternal immunisation, maternal health and nutrition, gynaecological and menstrual health, contraceptive innovation and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Areas for breakthrough research include the vaginal microbiome, innovative therapeutics for preeclampsia and non-hormonal contraception.
This commitment also encompasses investments aimed at generating data and advocacy for product uptake and maximise impact upon approval.
The five priority areas were chosen based on data showing where innovation can improve lives, feedback from women in low and middle-income countries about their needs, and high misdiagnosis rates due to gaps in medical knowledge.
By addressing longstanding gaps in women’s health, this investment seeks to unlock broader social and economic benefits.
The initiative supports the foundation’s long-term goals to 2045, including eliminating preventable maternal and infant deaths.
This R&D commitment also aligns with efforts to expand access to women’s health commodities, vaccines such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and child health programmes.
