Introduction
When philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced a major new push into women’s health, she aimed to fill an urgent gap: conditions that affect women across their lifetimes — from mental health and reproductive care to menopause and chronic conditions — remain drastically underfunded by research and services. One of the flagship responses has been the Action for Women’s Health open call, a major funding initiative offering flexible grants in the $1–5 million range to organizations worldwide that are working to improve women’s mental and physical health.
What makes this funding unusual — and exciting — is its scale, its flexibility, and its focus on organizations that can rapidly scale impact and address neglected areas such as mental health and menopause care. For nonprofits in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, these grants represent an opportunity to accelerate services, expand research, and shape national-level care pathways for women.
This long-form post explains the program from top to bottom: history and context; the program’s goals and timelines; what reviewers look for; step-by-step application and partnership strategies; real-world examples tailored to the regions you care about; a Statement of Purpose template; common mistakes and how to avoid them; a short comparison table; FAQs; and a clear call to action.
Overview of the topic — what is Action for Women’s Health?
Action for Women’s Health is a global open call to fund organizations that are improving women’s mental and physical health. It was launched by Pivotal — Melinda French Gates’ philanthropic vehicle — and is managed by Lever for Change, a respected civic grant-manager that runs large open-call competitions. The open call was first publicized in October 2024 and invited nonprofit applicants worldwide to apply for flexible awards between $1 million and $5 million. The aim: to back organizations that can scale effective programs and innovations, with a strong emphasis on equity and underserved communities.
Important timeline highlights (as published by the program at launch):
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Registration for applicants: Required before the application window closed (registration deadline was Dec 3, 2024).
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Full application window: Applicants were expected to submit detailed proposals by early January 2025 (application deadlines were published by the program).
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Review process: The process included administrative checks, participatory review (peer review among applicants), and an expert evaluation panel. The scale and participatory design were intentional — to surface community-led and insights-driven contenders.
The open call is framed as part of a broader commitment by Melinda French Gates to invest billions in women’s power and wellbeing, including a wider portfolio of funding and partnerships aimed at research, systems change, and scaled services. The open-call awards are meant to be flexible, enabling grantees to direct funds toward operations, scaling, research or capacity—depending on what the organization needs to achieve impact quickly.
Why Action for Women’s Health grants matter — and why mental & menopause health are central
Three reasons this opportunity matters — especially for the global South — and why mental and menopause health deserve focused attention:
1. Women’s health has been chronically underfunded
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Historically, conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women (e.g., endometriosis, menopause-related comorbidities, chronic autoimmune disorders and postpartum mental health) have received very little research funding and programmatic attention. That translates into poor diagnostics, lack of services and long-term disability. In many LMICs, the gaps are even more severe due to limited primary care, stigma, and workforce shortages.
2. Mental health for women is both neglected and cross-cutting
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Women globally experience higher rates of depression and anxiety; in many contexts, mental health needs intersect with maternal health, gender-based violence, economic insecurity and caregiving burdens. Effective, scalable models for mental health — from community-psychosocial support to integrated primary care mental health services — are therefore high-leverage interventions for women’s overall wellbeing.
3. Menopause is a major, overlooked life transition with health consequences
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Menopause affects billions of women, yet services — from symptom management to management of long-term risks (cardiovascular disease, bone health) — are often weak or absent in many health systems. Addressing menopause care (clinician training, culturally appropriate information, access to therapies and integration into primary care) is a key part of ensuring women remain healthy and economically active across the life course.
An open call that explicitly welcomes proposals addressing these areas — and which offers $1–5 million flexible awards — can catalyze research, service delivery and policy shifts in countries where these problems are most acute. For nonprofits and health systems in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the funding can be catalytic: it can finance scaled pilots that, with robust evidence and government engagement, can be institutionalized and financed locally.
Key Importance — who should consider applying and why
These grants are designed to fund organizations that can realistically scale impact or fill major evidence gaps in women’s health. Eligible applicants include:
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Nonprofits and NGOs (national and international) with programmatic track records and the ability to scale or replicate.
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Research institutions and university-affiliated centers conducting implementation research in mental health, menopause, or related fields with clear pathways to policy/practice.
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Coalitions and consortia that combine service delivery organizations with research partners and local community representation.
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Innovative social enterprises and health tech nonprofits that have proven pilots and need flexible capital to scale in LMIC contexts.
If your organization is small but deeply embedded in a community (for example a women’s collective delivering peer mental health support), you may still be competitive — especially if you can partner with a fiscal sponsor or a registered NGO that can manage a $1–5 million award’s administrative requirements.
Why apply? The funding combines:
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Scale: $1–5M enables significant program expansion, multi-site pilots, or comprehensive research and policy engagement.
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Flexibility: Unlike project-restricted grants, these awards tend to be flexible, letting organizations allocate funds where they have the most impact (capacity, operations, M&E, policy engagement).
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Visibility & influence: Being an awardee creates visibility and often opens doors to government dialogue, further funders, and partnerships.
Key Insights — what the funders are looking for
Understanding the funder’s priorities is the quickest route to a strong application. Based on Pivotal’s framing and Lever for Change’s process design, the Action for Women’s Health program typically rewards proposals that:
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Center equity — prioritize underserved groups (rural women, poor urban women, refugees, women living with disabilities) and have clear strategies for inclusion, cultural relevance and language.
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Show measurable health outcomes — define clear, realistic outcomes (e.g., reduction in depression scores, increase in timely management of menopausal symptoms, improved functional status) and the means to measure them.
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Have scale or replicability potential — an intervention should be designed such that it can be adopted beyond the initial sites (clear theory of change and cost model).
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Demonstrate community leadership — projects co-designed with community leaders (women’s groups, local health committees) score highly.
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Include strong operational and governance plans — handling $1–5M requires robust financial management, safeguarding policies, and monitoring systems. Lever for Change and Pivotal will review operational readiness.
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Commit to learning and sharing — many open-call designs require grantees to participate in peer learning and to share results publicly so the field can benefit.
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Offer a path to sustainability — either via government adoption, fee-for-service models, or diversified funding pathways.
Application reviewers typically include peers, experts, and community voices (the program used participatory review phases), so proposals must be both technically sound and easily understandable by non-specialists.
Benefits — what successful awardees can achieve
A $1–5M Action for Women’s Health award can be transformative. Typical uses and benefits include:
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Expanding service reach — scale a mental health intervention from pilot to regional rollout across multiple clinics.
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Funding implementation research — rigorous hybrid studies (effectiveness + implementation) that produce evidence to persuade ministries to adapt programs.
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Capacity building — strengthen community health worker networks, train clinicians in menopause care, and build culturally appropriate educational materials.
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Policy engagement — invest in government liaison, advocacy and demonstration sites that show feasibility and cost-effectiveness.
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Technology & innovation — support scalable digital mental health tools with human support (e.g., a blended model where community workers facilitate digital CBT).
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National or regional replication — with data and government buy-in, awards can seed larger public investments.
For community groups and small NGOs, awards often come with technical assistance and peer learning — amplifying impact beyond the financial award.
Table — quick comparison: Action for Women’s Health $1–5M awards vs. typical grant models
| Feature | Action for Women’s Health ($1–5M) | Traditional project grant (smaller funders) |
|---|---|---|
| Funding size | $1–5 million — substantial, flexible funding for scale/rigorous research. | Often $50k–$500k — ideal for pilots or time-limited interventions. |
| Flexibility | High — unrestricted or flexible uses (operations, scaling, M&E). | Varies; often restricted to specific activities with strict budgets. |
| Selection process | Open call + participatory review + expert panel (transparent). | Often invitation or closed application with narrower review panels. |
| Best for | Organizations ready to scale, perform research, or shift systems. | Early-stage pilots, local innovations needing seed funds. |
| Visibility & leverage | High — association with Melinda French Gates’ initiative can attract co-funders and policy attention. | Lower—visibility limited to specific donor’s network. |
| Reporting & expectations | Rigorous outcomes & learning commitments; participation in peer networks expected. | Reporting varies; may be simpler for small grants. |
This table helps you decide whether Action for Women’s Health is the right fit for your organization.
Real-world examples — how organizations might use $1–5M for mental & menopause health (Asia, Middle East, Africa focus)
Below are realistic, anonymized scenarios showing how the grants would be used in different regional contexts. These are illustrative models — adopt and adapt them to your local evidence and partnerships.
Example 1 — Community Mental Health Scale-up (South Asia)
Context: A national NGO runs a successful pilot integrating brief psychological interventions for perinatal depression into community health worker visits. The pilot (n=500) showed significant reductions in depressive symptoms and improved maternal functioning.
What $2.5M could fund:
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Scale to 10 districts (training 1,200 CHWs), digital supervision tools, robust monitoring and an implementation-effectiveness study (cluster randomized rollout), plus policy engagement to integrate the model into national maternal health guidelines.
Why this is strong:
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Addresses maternal mental health (high burden), has pilot evidence, a clear training & supervision model, research to quantify impact, and a sustainability pathway via government adoption.
Example 2 — Menopause Care & Workforce Training (East Africa)
Context: Menopause is rarely discussed in primary care. Women report symptoms that affect work and wellbeing but clinics lack protocols.
What $1.8M could fund:
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Design and pilot a culturally adapted menopause care package (clinical protocols, community education, and affordable symptom management strategies), train 500 primary healthcare clinicians in two regions, evaluate outcomes including symptom relief and work participation, and create an advocacy campaign for national inclusion of menopause in primary care guidelines.
Why this is strong:
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Clear health gap, feasible primary-care integration, substantial population reach, and potential to change national standards for lifelong care of women.
Example 3 — Digital + Peer-Support Mental Health for Refugee Women (Middle East)
Context: Refugee women face high rates of trauma and chronic stress with limited access to clinical mental health services.
What $4M could fund:
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Deploy a blended care model combining digital CBT modules (localized languages) with trained peer facilitators, integrate referral pathways for severe cases, run a hybrid effectiveness-implementation evaluation across refugee camps and urban host communities, and co-develop income-generating activities for peer facilitators to ensure livelihood support.
Why this is strong:
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Integrates scalable technology with human support, prioritizes inclusion and livelihoods, and generates evidence for scalable humanitarian responses.
Example 4 — Menopause and Chronic Disease Risk (North Africa)
Context: Menopause corresponds with increased cardiovascular risk, but women are underserved in screening and preventive care.
What $3.2M could fund:
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Implement a combined menopause-clinical risk package in 50 primary clinics — screening, lifestyle counselling, and selective pharmacologic options; evaluate effects on risk factor control and quality of life; and implement clinician training and a public awareness campaign.
Why this is strong:
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Bridges menopause care with non-communicable disease prevention — a high-impact, integrated approach that demonstrates cost-effectiveness for national scale-up.
Step-by-step: How to prepare a competitive Action for Women’s Health application
If you’re considering applying (or partnering), follow this practical roadmap. Note: exact submission processes may vary by year; always check the program portal for the latest instructions.
Step 1 — Confirm fit and eligibility
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Read the program page on Pivotal and Lever for Change carefully. Ensure your organization’s mission aligns with mental or women’s health and that you have the operational capacity for a $1–5M award.
Step 2 — Form a strong partnership or consortium (if needed)
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If your organization is small, partner with a university, fiscal sponsor, or larger NGO experienced in managing awards and reporting. Include community-based organizations and women’s groups.
Step 3 — Build a clear theory of change and measurable outcomes
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Define the problem with data, outline activities, and specify 3–6 primary outcomes (e.g., reduction in validated depression scale scores, increase in clinician competency, increase in women receiving evidence-based menopause care).
Step 4 — Design a realistic budget & sustainability model
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Budget for staffing, monitoring & evaluation, community engagement, capacity building, and a reasonable allocation for administration (be mindful of funder caps on overhead). Show pathways to sustainability (government uptake, service fees, blended finance).
Step 5 — Prepare rigorous monitoring, evaluation & learning (MEL)
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Include a plan for baseline & endline measurement, sample sizes for quantitative evaluation, and qualitative learning components. If possible, budget for an independent evaluator.
Step 6 — Center equity & community voice
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Detail how women from the communities you serve were involved in design and governance. Include plans for inclusive recruitment (gender, disability, marginalized groups) and safeguarding.
Step 7 — Prepare governance & operations documentation
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Demonstrate financial controls, anti-corruption policies, safeguarding policies, and experience handling donor reporting. If you lack some policies, explain how you will build them with the award.
Step 8 — Draft a compelling narrative
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Keep language clear and concrete. Tell a human story that connects to data. Reviewers respond to clarity and urgency.
Step 9 — Peer review and revision
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Use neutral partners or external reviewers to critique your application with the funder’s criteria in mind (impact, scale, feasibility, equity).
Step 10 — Submit and prepare for participatory review
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Many open calls include peer review among applicants or communities; ensure your submission is organized, with annexes clearly labeled.
This sequence helps you build a fundable project rather than a wishlist.
Your Statement of Purpose — a simple, strong structure (one page)
Below is a reusable SOP template you can adapt for Action for Women’s Health applications. Keep it short (500–800 words), specific and outcome-oriented.
[Project Title] Statement of Purpose
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Opening (1 sentence): Who you are and your mission.
Example: “WomenWell NGO (registered national NGO) strengthens women’s mental health and primary care integration in rural X.” -
Problem (2–3 sentences): One or two data-backed lines about the local gap.
Example: “In Province Y, up to 30% of perinatal women show depressive symptoms, yet fewer than 10% receive evidence-based care due to workforce shortages and stigma.” -
Proposed solution (3–4 short paragraphs): Summarize the intervention, scale, and timeline. Include who implements what.
Example: “We propose a 3-year scale-up of a CHW-delivered psychological intervention across 40 clinics, combining brief psychosocial modules, digital supervision, and local referral pathways. Year 1 focuses on training and piloting; Year 2 on scale across districts; Year 3 on evaluation and policy engagement.” -
Outcomes & indicators (bulleted): 3–5 measurable indicators (with targets).
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Reduce mean depression score by X points among participants at 6 months.
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Train 400 CHWs with competency >80% on post-training assessment.
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60% of women with moderate-severe depression linked to higher-level care.
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Budget snapshot (1 paragraph): High-level funding ask and primary uses.
Example: “We request $3M to cover program delivery, M&E including an independent evaluation, staffing, and policy engagement.” -
Sustainability & equity (1 paragraph): How the project will be sustained and how it centers equity.
Example: “We will co-design with women’s groups, engage the Ministry of Health for scale-up, and document cost per outcome to inform national adoption.” -
Closing (1 sentence): Commitment to learning and participation in the grant’s peer-learning processes.
This SOP is compact and speaks to what reviewers need to know quickly.
Common mistakes — and how to avoid them
Here are frequent pitfalls applicants make — and simple fixes.
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Mistake: Vague outcomes.
Fix: Use validated measures (PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, standardized QoL metrics) and state targets. -
Mistake: No community involvement in design.
Fix: Document community meetings, co-design workshops, and include letters of support. -
Mistake: Underestimating operational complexity.
Fix: Budget for project management, M&E, and compliance. If you lack capacity, partner with institutions that do. -
Mistake: Overpromising scale without cost data.
Fix: Include realistic unit costs and a clear plan for incremental scale-up. -
Mistake: Failing to address safeguarding.
Fix: Attach or draft a safeguarding policy; explain how you will protect participants. -
Mistake: Weak evidence or research plan.
Fix: If doing research, include sample size calculations, measurement timelines and an independent evaluator.
Avoiding these increases your fundability.
FAQs (Concise but useful)
Q: Who runs Action for Women’s Health and who is eligible?
A: Pivotal (Melinda French Gates’ organization) launched the open call; Lever for Change manages the grantmaking and review process. Nonprofit organizations worldwide that improve women’s physical or mental health were eligible to apply — with emphasis on equity and capacity to scale. available?
A: Awards were set between $1 million and $5 million per organization under the open call model. Applicants needed to register and apply within the published windows.
Q: What kinds of projects were prioritized?
A: The call emphasized projects that deliver measurable improvements in women’s mental or physical health, center equity, are ready to scale, and can produce evidence for policy and practice. Projects focused on neglected areas such as menopause, perinatal mental health, or community-based mental health innovations were especially relevant.
Q: Are awards restricted to U.S. organizations?
A: No — the program was global and welcomed organizations around the world, especially those serving women in low- and middle-income contexts.
Q: What is the review process like?
A: The process included administrative checks, a participatory review where applicants review peers’ submissions, and an expert evaluation panel — intended to make the process transparent and community-informed.
How to measure and demonstrate impact — practical metrics & tools
Funders will expect rigorous, credible evidence of impact. Practical and realistic metrics include:
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Clinical/health outcomes: Changes in validated score measures (PHQ-9 for depression, Menopause Rating Scale for menopausal symptoms), symptom remission rates, and functional status improvements.
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Reach & coverage: Number of women served, disaggregated by age, socioeconomic status, disability and location (urban/rural).
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System-level outcomes: Number of clinics adopting the protocol, clinician competency scores, and number of policy briefs produced or meetings held with government.
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Economic & social outcomes: Changes in days able to work, household income metrics, or reductions in healthcare utilization for untreated conditions.
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Quality & fidelity indicators: Percent of sessions delivered according to protocol, supervisor checklists, and client satisfaction scores.
Low-cost tools: mobile data collection (ODK), simple pre-post surveys, secure telehealth logs, and short qualitative interviews. Budget for independent analysis if possible — it strengthens credibility.
Scaling & sustainability — turning a grant into a system change
A $1–5M award is important, but sustainability happens when national systems take up the approach. Consider these tactics:
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Demonstration sites with strong MOUs: Use pilot sites to demonstrate feasibility and get government co-investment letters early.
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Costing and unit-cost models: Produce clear cost-per-person and cost-per-outcome figures to enable governments to budget for scale.
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Policy engagement: Schedule policy workshops, invite policymakers to visits, and prepare short policy briefs with actionable recommendations.
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Local capacity building: Train trainers, build supervisory frameworks, and use blended learning so knowledge remains in-country.
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Data-sharing and open resources: Publish tools and anonymized datasets to build trust and adoption.
These steps help move from project to program.
Final thoughts — recap, clear call to action and an inspiring quote
Recap: Melinda French Gates’ Action for Women’s Health open call (managed by Pivotal and Lever for Change) created a rare funding window — flexible awards of $1–5 million — designed to accelerate high-impact efforts to improve women’s mental and physical health globally. The program prioritizes equity, scale, evidence and community leadership. For nonprofits and researchers in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, these awards are an opportunity to scale proven models, generate policy-relevant evidence, and transform how health systems care for women — including in areas like mental health and menopause that have been historically neglected.
Call to action (three immediate steps):
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If your organization is ready: Draft a short concept note (1 page) that defines the problem, the core intervention, the scale, and measurable outcomes. Use the SOP template above.
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If you’re a small community group: Identify an experienced fiscal sponsor or research partner to help you manage funds and reporting for larger awards.
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If you’re a student, educator or parent: Partner with NGOs and university centers that are applying — you can contribute research, pilot implementation or community mobilization support.
“When funding is disciplined by evidence and guided by community voice, neglected problems — like women’s mental health and menopause care — become solvable. This is the moment to design for scale and equity together.”
