Gates Foundation, Others Launch $500M Health Fund to Save Mothers and Newborns
In a bold move to tackle the ongoing crisis in maternal and newborn health, a coalition of philanthropies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has launched the Beginnings Fund, a nearly $500 million initiative aimed at saving the lives of 300,000 mothers and newborns by 2030.
The fund was unveiled on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, home to a key supporter, the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity. It comes at a time when global health funding is shrinking, with several governments, including the U.S., pulling back on international aid. Against this backdrop, the fund signals renewed hope for women and children across sub-Saharan Africa.
Alice Kang’ethe, the fund’s CEO, emphasized that the approach would differ from traditional donor programs. “We aim to work with African governments, experts, and organizations, not parachute in solutions,” she told Reuters.
The fund will target 10 countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The strategy focuses on low-cost interventions and scaling up health personnel in high-burden hospitals. Specific causes of maternal and infant mortality, such as infection, severe bleeding, and newborn respiratory distress, will be tracked and tackled directly.
In addition to the main fund, the partners have pledged an extra $100 million in direct investments to maternal and child health.
Tala Al Ramahi, representing the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation, connected the effort to the UAE’s own transformation: “Two generations ago, women in the UAE used to die during childbirth. More than half of the children did not survive past childhood. The lessons we learned are guiding this mission.”
While the World Health Organization has reported that progress on reducing maternal and newborn deaths has stalled or even reversed in recent years, this initiative aims to reignite momentum and build sustainable, locally led change.
“Mothers and newborns should not be dying from causes we know how to prevent,” said Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Mekdes Daba, underscoring that most of these deaths are entirely avoidable.
The fund is also supported by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Delta Philanthropies, and ELMA Foundation, and will be led from Nairobi, Kenya, placing its leadership squarely on the African continent.
