SEATTLE — Melinda French Gates has pledged $215 million in new funding to expand women’s health initiatives focused on contraceptive access, maternal care, and menopause-related research, according to an announcement Thursday.
The funding includes support for programs aimed at improving reproductive health services and strengthening health systems for women, particularly in low-resource settings.
French Gates also allocated $40 million to Co-Impact to support an initiative that integrates mental health services into maternal and primary health care programs, with a focus on Africa.
An additional $10 million will go to The Menopause Society to expand education for health care providers and improve access to menopause-related care in the United States.
French Gates said the investments are intended to address gaps in funding for women’s health issues and encourage additional support from other donors and governments.
“The role of philanthropy, in my opinion, is to look at some of these societal problems that have been left behind,” she said in remarks to The Associated Press.
She said the goal is to highlight underfunded areas, demonstrate possible solutions, and attract broader support from other funders and public institutions.
The latest commitment brings French Gates’ total philanthropic giving for women’s health initiatives to more than $600 million over the past two years.
French Gates, who co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has focused increasingly on women’s health and education since stepping back from the organization’s leadership in 2024.
