Melinda French Gates announced a new $215 million pledge to expand women’s health worldwide.
Since stepping away from the Gates Foundation in 2024, Gates has focused her philanthropy through Pivotal—an organization she founded to pursue her investments and charitable work. Her latest commitment brings her women’s‑health funding to more than $600 million in the past two years.
Gates called women’s health the “cornerstone” of her work: “It’s blaringly obvious that women’s health is fundamental. A woman must be well to do well in life.”
The new grant includes a $40 million donation to Co‑Impact, supporting mental‑health integration into maternal and primary care in Africa, and a $10 million contribution to the Menopause Society. The latter aims to expand education of healthcare practitioners and outreach in underserved U.S. counties.
Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director of The Menopause Society, highlighted that roughly 6,000 U.S. counties lack menopause‑competent clinicians. “Menopause remains one of the most overlooked areas in medicine,” she said, noting that the gift will help fill critical gaps.
Gates explained that philanthropy should spotlight neglected issues to attract government and private funding: “I'm sending a signal—this is really important. Let’s do something about it.” She added that the attention her gift brings may inspire other donors to join the effort.
She emphasized making women’s health visible: “I don’t want the default to be that women are expected to deal with pain and suffering. I want them to be seen for their real life experiences and have those issues addressed.”
Associated Press reports on philanthropy in the U.S. are funded by Pivotal and the Lilly Endowment. For more on AP’s coverage of philanthropy, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
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