Philanthropist Melinda French Gates has announced a significant expansion of her efforts to improve women’s health worldwide. She is pledging an additional $215 million towards contraceptive access, maternal care, and initiatives for middle-aged women, including research on menopause.

This new funding brings her total contributions for women’s health to over $600 million in just the past two years. In an interview with The Associated Press, French Gates emphasized the importance of women’s health to her philanthropic work. She stated, “It’s just blaringly obvious that women’s health is fundamental—she has to be well to do well in life.”

Since stepping away from The Gates Foundation in 2024, French Gates has focused her approach on supporting women through Pivotal, the network of organizations she founded. Her latest funding strategy targets areas she views as underfunded. This includes a $40 million donation to Co-Impact for a program that integrates mental health support into maternal and primary care, particularly in Africa.

Additionally, French Gates announced a $10 million donation to the Menopause Society aimed at enhancing menopause care in the U.S. This includes educating healthcare providers and extending outreach to regions with inadequate care. She hopes this move will catalyze other funders to address the issue.

As per the World Economic Forum, women’s health issues receive only 2% of private healthcare funding, despite women comprising half the global population. The lack of investment has led to a scarcity of dedicated products and services.

French Gates believes philanthropy should address overlooked societal challenges and demonstrate pathways to progress that can attract additional private and government funding. Her goal is to highlight these issues and encourage collaboration among donors.

“The 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,” she said.

Dr. Stephanie Faubion from The Menopause Society and The Mayo Clinic’s Center for Women’s Health noted that many areas in the United States lack adequate menopause-competent clinicians. French Gates’ donation will help expand the Society’s educational resources to underserved regions.

Research in menopause treatment has long been underfunded, exacerbated by recent government funding cuts. Faubion remarked that philanthropy will play a growing role as government funding diminishes.

“Menopause remains one of the most overlooked and underserved areas in medicine, and The Menopause Society believes women deserve better,” Faubion said. “We’re ready to make those changes with the support of donors like Pivotal.”

The substantial size of French Gates’ gift is crucial, but bringing attention to women’s health issues is equally important. Faubion states, “It shows that somebody like Melinda Gates and Pivotal feel that this is an important issue. It will illuminate the gaps that are still there… and it makes people not only aware, but maybe motivated to take some action.”

French Gates aims to increase visibility around women’s health issues, advocating for real-life experiences to be recognized and addressed.

“I want women’s health issues to not be invisible,” she said. “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 what they’re going through, their real life experiences, and have those issues addressed so they can live their very best lives.”

The Associated Press provides news coverage about women in the workforce supported by Melinda French Gates’ organization, Pivotal.

This content was produced by the AP, which also collaborates with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

For comprehensive coverage of philanthropy, visit the AP at apnews.com.