The Gates Foundation says it will invest $2.5 billion into research and development (R&D) on women’s health.

It said this in a statement released on Monday, listing the areas for investment to include obstetric care and maternal immunization, maternal health and nutrition, gynecological and menstrual health, contraceptive innovation, and Sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

“The Gates Foundation today announced a $2.5 billion commitment through 2030 to accelerate research and development (R&D) focused exclusively on women’s health,” the statement read.

“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 Foundation said women’s health R&D “remains chronically underfunded”.

It said critical issues like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis, and menopause, which together affect hundreds of millions of women, remain deeply under-researched.

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“For too long, women have suffered from health conditions that are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or ignored,” the president of the Gates Foundation’s Gender Equality Division, Anita Zaidi, said.

“We want this investment to spark a new era of women-centered innovation, one where women’s lives, bodies, and voices are prioritized in health R&D.”

On his part,  chair of the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, said, “Investing in women’s health has a lasting impact across generations. It leads to healthier families, stronger economies, and a more just world.

“Yet women’s health continues to be ignored, underfunded, and sidelined. Too many women still die from preventable causes or live in poor health. That must change. But we can’t do it alone.”

‘An Investable Opportunity’

The Foundation is urging governments, philanthropists, investors, and the private sector to co-invest in women’s health innovations to close persistent gaps in funding and research.

“This is the largest investment we’ve ever made in women’s 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,” Zaidi 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.”