US$100 million in new funding marks an early show of support for GFF’s next strategic period, helping to advance country-led plans to deliver life-saving care and build stronger health systems
 

December 6, 2025, TOKYO — The Global Financing Facility (GFF) today welcomed a US$100 million pledge from the Gates Foundation to help deliver on the GFF’s new five-year strategy (2026–2030), reinforcing a shared commitment to ending preventable deaths among women, children, and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries.

This new funding will support GFF-eligible countries to expand access to life-saving services and transform their health systems. The pledge was announced by Ankur Vora, Chief Strategy Officer at the Gates Foundation, during the Universal Health Coverage High-Level Forum in Tokyo, Japan.

Through catalytic financing, technical assistance, and close coordination with global and local partners, over the past decade the GFF has mobilized US$2.5 billion in grants and leveraged over US$11 billion in World Bank financing—enabling countries to strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes for women, children, and adolescents. 

This support has contributed to hundreds of millions more women receiving antenatal care, safer births, expanded access to modern contraception and improved nutrition services across GFF-supported countries.

As the global health financing landscape grows more complex and competitive, sustained support for country-led efforts to strengthen systems, improve access to essential medicines and supplies, and secure long-term domestic financing is more urgent than ever.

"The GFF was founded on the principle that countries must lead the development and implementation of their own health priorities,” said Mamta Murthi, Vice President for People World Bank Group and Chair of the GFF Trust Fund Committee. “The new GFF strategy, developed in close collaboration with our partners, aims to ensure that investments in women, children, and adolescents are sustained, strategic, at scale and reach the most vulnerable communities. We are grateful to the Gates Foundation for this early commitment, which sends a powerful signal that together, we will accelerate progress and build resilient health systems for the future.“

A core focus of the GFF’s next strategic period is equipping countries to navigate this evolving environment, including by unlocking additional financing, directing resources to the communities with the greatest need, scaling proven tools, and building resilient systems to withstand shocks. The Gates Foundation’s renewed commitment will help fuel this agenda, enabling countries to improve health outcomes while advancing broader development goals.

“As we look to the next 20 years, country-led solutions will be central to driving the biggest impact for moms and babies—especially when paired with financing models that multiply every dollar,” said Ankur Vora, Chief Strategy Officer at the Gates Foundation. “The GFF’s model turns those investments into real results. Our renewed support will help enable countries to improve their health systems to have the biggest impact on health outcomes for women and children. We encourage other partners to join us in supporting GFF's vital work.”

With this commitment, the Gates Foundation has committed more than $500 million to the GFF since 2015.

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About the Global Financing Facility (GFF)
The GFF is a country-led partnership, hosted by the World Bank, which was established in 2015 to end preventable deaths of women, children, and adolescents. The GFF provides catalytic grant financing and technical assistance to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to strengthen their health systems and improve the quality of and access to health and nutrition services through better use of data, prioritized plans, aligned financing, and policy reforms. The GFF’s collaborative model brings together partner countries, bilateral and multilateral funders, philanthropies, global health institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), youth-led organizations, and the private sector to align their support around country priorities for women, children and adolescent health and nutrition. More information is available at www.globalfinancingfacility.org.

Contact:
Sheryl Silverman
ssilverman@worldbankgroup.org
+1 202 473 3297