The Gates Foundation has announced a £2.5 billion commitment through 2030 to accelerate research and development (R&D) focused exclusively on women’s health. It 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.

The funding aims to support over 40 innovations across five vital, underfunded fields of women’s health: maternal health/obstetrics; maternal nutrition; Gynaecological and menstrual health; contraceptive innovation; and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The foundation, during a virtual press briefing on Monday, noted that women’s health R&D remains chronically underfunded, adding that areas such as gynecological and menstrual health, obstetric care, contraceptive innovation, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) solutions (including HIV PrEP for women), and maternal health and nutrition receive limited investment.

According to a 2021 analysis led by McKinsey & Company, only one person of healthcare research and innovation is allocated to female-specific conditions beyond oncology, despite critical issues like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis, and menopause affecting hundreds of millions of women, which remain severely under-researched.

Speaking at the event, chair of the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, lamented that women’s health has continually been ignored, underfunded, and sidelined. He stated that too many women still die from preventable causes or live in poor health. “That must change. But we can’t do it alone.”

Gates noted that investing in women’s health has a lasting impact across generations as it leads to healthier families, stronger economies, and a more just world.

“To close persistent gaps in funding and research, the foundation is urging governments, philanthropists, investors, and the private sector to co-invest in women’s health innovations, help shape product development, and ensure access to treatments for the women and girls who need them most,” he said.

Also speaking, President of the Gates Foundation’s Gender Equality Division, Dr. Anita Zaidi, said that for too long, women have suffered from health conditions that are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or ignored adding that the foundation wants the investment to spark a new era of women-centered innovation, one where women’s lives, bodies, and voices are prioritized in health R&D.

Zaidi noted that the 2.5 billion commitment is the largest investment the foundation has ever made in women’s health research and development, but it still significantly underperforms what is required in a neglected and underfunded area of great human need and potential.

She said, “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.”

“The foundation’s investment will advance innovation across five high-impact areas of a woman’s lifespan: Obstetric care and maternal immunisation: Making pregnancy and delivery safer. Maternal health and nutrition: Supporting healthier pregnancies and newborns. Gynaecological and menstrual health: Advancing tools and research to better diagnose, treat, and improve gynaecological 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. Included in the commitment are investments that will support data generation and advocacy to help ensure product uptake and impact upon approval.

According to the foundation, the five priority areas were selected based on a combination of data and evidence about where innovation can save and improve the most lives, direct insights from women in low- and middle-income countries about their needs and preferences, and the persistently high rates of misdiagnosis caused by gaps in medical knowledge and training.

They also reflect the unique challenges faced in low-resource settings, making these areas especially ripe for broader public and private investment to drive meaningful, scalable impact.

A Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr. Bosede Afolabi, noted that the new commitment brings much-needed attention to the health challenges women face in places where resources are most limited. The burden is highest and also reflects a recognition that women’s lives and the innovations that support them must be prioritised everywhere.

She said, We see the consequences of underinvestment in women’s health innovation every day when women suffer needlessly, and sometimes lose their lives, because of the gaps in how we understand and treat conditions that uniquely affect them.”

Research shows that 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.

This work supports the foundation’s long-term goals through 2045: helping to end preventable deaths of mothers and babies; ensuring the next generation grows up without suffering from deadly infectious diseases; and lifting millions of people out of poverty, putting them on a path to prosperity. It builds on a 25-year legacy of advancing maternal and child health, as well as supporting women’s empowerment globally. The R&D commitment complements the foundation’s work in supporting the scale-up and delivery of women’s health commodities, vaccines such as the HPV vaccine, and child health initiatives.