Philanthropies launch $500M fund to improve maternal and newborn health in sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to save 300,000 lives by 2030 amid global aid cuts.
A coalition of philanthropic organisations—including the Gates Foundation, the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, and several others—has launched The Beginnings Fund, a $500 million initiative aimed at saving the lives of 300,000 mothers and newborns across 10 sub-Saharan African countries by 2030. The fund was announced on April 29, 2025, in Abu Dhabi.
At a time when global health funding is declining, the initiative stands in stark contrast to ongoing international aid cuts. The fund will prioritise low-cost, high-impact interventions to address leading causes of maternal and newborn mortality, such as infection, postpartum haemorrhage, and neonatal respiratory distress. Operating in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, the fund will focus on strengthening service delivery in high-burden hospitals through better-trained personnel and improved quality of care. In addition to the pooled funding, partners have committed a further $100 million in direct maternal and child health investments.
Importantly, the initiative emphasises collaboration with African governments and local stakeholders. “Mothers and newborns should not be dying from causes we know how to prevent,” said Dr. Mekdes Daba, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, highlighting the urgency of renewed investments. Led from Nairobi, Kenya, The Beginnings Fund aims to reverse recent stagnation in progress on maternal and neonatal health outcomes. According to the World Health Organization, the global neonatal mortality rate, which was halved between 1990 and 2022, is once again at risk of backsliding without increased and sustained support.
This new philanthropic effort signals a shift toward regionally anchored, partnership-driven approaches to sustainable health financing and universal health coverage in sub-Saharan Africa.
