By Muhammad Amaan
The Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) announced the close of its 2026 investment round, having successfully reached the $1 billion target with commitments from governments, philanthropic and private sector partners to accelerate progress towards ending preventable maternal and child deaths.
The new commitments will help countries improve the health of women, children and adolescents. This means saving lives but also giving young people the chance to stay in school, find work and build their futures.
New data shows GFF partner countries are expanding essential health services and mobilizing resources faster than comparable countries
Further, acceleration efforts will support countries to improve access to essential medicines and health products for women, children and adolescents. It will also help countries expand proven innovations that make childbirth safer for mothers and newborns.
“These commitments are an important vote of confidence in the GFF model and what countries can achieve when they are in the driver’s seat,” said Dr. Austin Demby, Minister of Health, Sierra Leone, and Chair of the GFF Ministerial Network.
“This funding will help to reach more women and children with lifesaving care and build stronger health systems that can sustain progress for generations to come.”
Since 2015, maternal and child mortality have fallen faster in GFF partner countries. For example, maternal mortality fell by 26 percent in GFF partner countries between 2015 and 2023. Globally, the drop was 14 percent. Under-five mortality fell by 24 percent between 2015 and 2024.
Globally, the drop was 13 percent. These results show that progress speeds up when countries prioritize women’s and children’s health, including through a prioritized plan to scale up effective services, and crowd in financing to ensure national plans are financed – a key goal of the GFF’s support to countries.
Countries working with the GFF are securing more financing for women’s and children’s health. GFF partner countries have committed US$11.9 billion in World Bank Group financing to these priorities since 2015, with a 46 percent increase in allocations to the highest impact interventions for women, children and adolescents.
“Reaching $1 billion in grant financing reflects the trust our investors place in the GFF, and the health results partner countries are achieving for women, children, and adolescents,” said Mamta Murthi, the World Bank Group’s Vice President for People.
“Investing in the GFF will help unlock more World Bank Group financing towards ending preventable deaths of women and children and brings us closer to the Bank Group’s goal of reaching 1.5 billion people with quality, affordable health services by 2030.”
In recent months, Japan ($40 million), the Netherlands (€84.5 million), Germany (€10 million) and an anonymous foundation ($45 million) stepped forward with new pledges. Governments and foundations are investing side by side, at a time when aid budgets are falling.
This shows the strength of the GFF partnership. As the global health architecture evolves, the GFF offers a model that works through country systems and national budgets, led by governments.
Together, partners are helping countries reach more women, children and adolescents with lifesaving care.
Japan’s Minister of Finance, Satsuki Katayama in a statement delivered to the Development Committee said, “In addition, strengthening human capital through investments in maternal and child health and nutrition is essential for achieving UHC.
“From this perspective, Japan announces a pledge of $40 million to the Global Financing Facility (GFF) in the first year of its new five-year strategy.
Japan will strengthen collaboration between the GFF and the UHC Knowledge Hub, leveraging their strong complementarity, to translate the knowledge and experiences gained through the UHC Knowledge Hub’s training program into concrete actions at the country level.”
On his part, Pascalle Grotenhuis, Vice-Minister for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands, announced during the GFF Investors Group meeting.
“The GFF is fulfilling an important task in mobilizing sustainable, country-led financing for health and rights of women, children and adolescents.
That is why I am very pleased to announce that the Netherlands will contribute an additional €84.5 million between 2027 and 2030 to the GFF, on top of our annual core contribution of €23.9 million.
“This is a clear sign that we will not step back. No country or organization can do this alone, which is why the Netherlands greatly values our partnership within the GFF, where we work together to achieve more for women and children.”
Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, Dr. Bärbel Kofler, said, “Putting sexual and reproductive rights and health (SRHR) at the heart of health policy gives me hope.
“Germany wants to support this collective effort, which is why we’re proud to contribute €10 million to the GFF’s sustainable commodities access program. This program will leverage additional financing based on sound national health strategies and deliver results on the ground for women and girls.”
