More than 80 nonprofits receive $250M for global women’s health from Melinda French Gates

By THALIA BEATY More than organizations that provide healthcare care for women all over the world received grants Wednesday totaling million from Melinda French Gates after a year-long application process Related Articles Sotheby s says a diamond brooch lost by Napoleon as his forces fled Waterloo sells for million Zelenskyy seeks dismissal of justice and force ministers in Ukrainian corruption probe UK s Starmer refuses to say whether he will urge Trump to drop his billion BBC threat Russia makes gains in southern Ukraine as it expands front-line attacks Weather change is in the news during COP We ve got tips to tackle your state anxiety French Gates revealed the majority of the recipients of the Action for Women s Healthcare challenge have not previously received funding from her organization Pivotal or from the Gates Foundation which she founded with her ex-husband Bill Gates She stepped away from the Gates Foundation last year It will be instructive for the world to see what it looks like when organizations like this aren t so chronically underfunded French Gates mentioned in written responses to The Associated Press which receives funding from Pivotal for news coverage The grants which range between million and million were awarded through a competition that was open to nonprofit organizations from majority countries French Gates revealed the point of holding such an open call is to learn about organizations that aren t already known to major funders The Chicago-based nonprofit Lever for Change ran the application process and noted more than organizations from countries applied This seems to be a topic that resonates announced Cecilia Conrad CEO of Lever for Change of global women s vitality So I m excited about helping to uplift and elevate the profile of these organizations with other funders Her organization often provides donors both large and small with advice about what organizations to sponsorship drawing from the list of finalists who have applied to the grant competitions they run This is the second largest funding competition that Lever for Change has hosted after MacKenzie Scott gave million to community-based nonprofits in the U S in March For the Likhaan Center for Women s Wellness based in the Philippines the million grant represents years of funding at their current annual budget I could not contain the bliss of people in the room noted executive director Junice Melgar when she and her staff learned they had been selected For years Likhaan has provided primary care to very poor communities and advocated for strategy changes to reflect area demands Beyond the money Melgar commented the recognition affirms the effectiveness and sustainability of their community-based model The venture in global women s vitality organizations is part of a billion commitment that French Gates made to advocacy women s rights over two years She also gave million each to individuals to distribute to nonprofits of their choice and has pledged million to boost gender equity in workplaces Lisel Lifshitz the executive director of the small nonprofit Mujeres Aliadas which also received a grant noted her organization makes magic with every dollar they receive Located in Michoac n Mexico Mujeres Aliadas trains midwives and provides guidance to women and teens about sexual and reproductive robustness You don t know what it takes to be very creative in more rural and complicated contexts talking about precaution about poverty about the a large number of a large number of things that are missing here she announced For years her organization has advocated for greater recognition and acceptance of midwives who blend traditional knowledge and local beliefs with professional training The funding comes at a critical moment In she announced two grants they were expecting did not come through because of foreign aid cuts and other program changes Having this kind of trust-based and unrestricted funding means the world to us Lifshitz declared Since a multitude of gains have been made globally in reducing the number of women who die in child birth increasing access to contraception and decreasing cases of HIV among women according to a description about sexual and reproductive physical condition from the United Nations Population Fund But the assessment also ascertained that profound inequalities in robustness outcomes for women remain within countries and between countries Rahel Nardos director of Global Women s Soundness at the Center for Global Soundness and Social Responsibility University of Minnesota revealed the historic exclusion of women from biological research and a lack of research into issues that impact women specifically like menopause contribute to women s poor vitality From her own practice as a specialist in treating pelvic floor conditions Nardos noted she also sees women prioritizing family members and delaying care for themselves despite living with extreme wellness problems Additionally violence and instability have contributed to stalling progress on maternal mortality she declared even as it is well-known what combination of treatments and approaches work to prevent these deaths Chosen recipients of Pivotal s funding are emerging new tools to reach women who have been left behind Sabine Bolonhini and Adriana Mallet cofounders of SAS Brasil use telemedicine and mobile clinics to provide specialized care to patients in Brazil who otherwise would have to advance long distances For example in partnership with a university they have been training an artificial intelligence model to identify likely cases of cervical cancer from images Bolonhini announced that she hopes French Gates giving will inspire wealthy families in Brazil to also give more to organizations like hers For us it s also using the funding responsibly and being a good role model for how this money can find solutions that no one else has discovered yet Bolonhini revealed Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and non-profits receives sponsorship through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content For all of AP s philanthropy coverage visit https apnews com hub philanthropy