Philanthropist will expand her giving to improve women鈥檚 health globally, pledging another $215 million to support contraceptive access and maternal care, as well as initiatives aimed at middle-aged women, including further study of menopause.
The new funding announced Thursday pushes French Gates鈥� donations for women鈥檚 health over $600 million in the past two years.
French Gates told The Associated Press in an interview that women鈥檚 health is the cornerstone of the work she does through Pivotal, the group of organizations she founded to handle her philanthropy and investments. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just blaringly obvious that women鈥檚 health is fundamental 鈥� she has to be well to do well in life,鈥� French Gates said.
Since 2024, when she , which she founded with her now ex-husband Bill Gates and built into one of the world鈥檚 largest private funders of health care, French Gates has honed her approach to supporting women.
This latest round of funding reflects an increasingly strategic approach to areas she feels are underfunded. It includes a $40 million donation to Co-Impact for an initiative that embeds mental health support into maternal and primary care, especially in Africa. And French Gates hopes her $10 million donation to the Menopause Society to improve menopause care in the United States, by educating healthcare practitioners and expanding outreach in areas where care is limited, will encourage other funders to begin working on the issue.
According to the World Economic Forum, even though women make up half the population, the health issues that specifically affect them only get . The lack of funding has resulted in a lack of products and services dedicated to treating them.
鈥淭he role of philanthropy, in my opinion, is to look at some of these societal problems that have been left behind, and shine light on them, show ways of making progress so you can then crowd in other donors and ultimately crowd in government funding,鈥� she said. 鈥淧art of what I鈥檓 doing here, I hope, is sending a signal to say, 鈥楾his is really important. Let鈥檚 do something about it.鈥� And my hope is that I鈥檒l be able to get others who will join me.鈥�
Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director of The Menopause Society and director of The Mayo Clinic鈥檚 Center for Women鈥檚 Health, said the United States currently has about 6,000 counties where patients have critically low access to menopause-competent clinicians. She said the donation will allow The Menopause Society to offer its educational resources to more areas of the country that need them.
鈥淢enopause remains one of the most overlooked and underserved areas in medicine, and The Menopause Society believes women deserve better,鈥� Faubion said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e ready to make those changes with the support of donors like Pivotal.鈥�
Research into menopause treatments was already underfunded, even before recent made by President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration went into effect, Faubion said.
鈥淚 think philanthropy is going to fill a greater role than it ever has in the past because we are just not going to have the same type of government funding that we鈥檝e had before,鈥� she said. 鈥淔unding is hard to come by these days 鈥� much, much harder than it was before. And the need hasn鈥檛 gotten away. We still have to do the research somehow.鈥�
Faubion said the substantial size of French Gates鈥� gift is important, but the attention it brings may be even more crucial.
鈥淚t shows that somebody like Melinda Gates and Pivotal feel that this is an important issue,鈥� Faubion said. 鈥淚t will illuminate the gaps that are still there鈥� and it makes people not only aware, but maybe motivated to take some action.鈥�
For French Gates, bringing more attention to these women鈥檚 issues is nearly as important as increasing the funding for them.
鈥淚 want women鈥檚 health issues to not be invisible,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want the default to be that women are expected to deal with pain and suffering. I want them to be seen for what they鈥檙e going through, their real life experiences, and have those issues addressed so they can live their very best lives.”
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The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage of women in the workforce and in statehouses from Melinda French Gates鈥� organization, Pivotal.
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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP鈥檚 collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP鈥檚 philanthropy coverage, visit .
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