Gates Foundation and Wellcome Leap pledge $100 million to halve stillbirth rates

The Gates Foundation and Wellcome Leap announced on October 12, 2026, in Berlin a new joint initiative called Uzima: A Stillbirth Prevention Program, aiming to demonstrate that stillbirth rates can be cut by half over the next decade in select countries, according to a press release by the Gates Foundation. The two organizations will each contribute $50 million during the program’s first three years. Uzima will identify, validate, and scale innovations that help families and health workers recognize risks earlier and respond to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The initiative will begin with partners in sub-Saharan Africa. It seeks to create a blueprint for reducing stillbirths globally.

Nearly 2 million babies worldwide are stillborn each year—one every 17 seconds. Almost half of these losses occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Each loss carries real and lasting consequences for women and families. Stillbirth prevention remains underfunded and overlooked in maternal and newborn health. Significant gaps exist in research and innovation around the pregnancy complications contributing to these losses.

Named for the Swahili word meaning “life and well-being,” Uzima will validate and scale a suite of innovations across pregnancy and childbirth. Categories under exploration include biomarker-based, imaging-based, and other diagnostic tools such as fundoscopy for conditions like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. The program will also examine artificial intelligence-enabled ultrasound and screening tools, sensors and monitoring technologies used during labor, and AI-enabled decision-support tools. Integrated, personalized support and patient navigation systems for mothers, families, and community health workers are also part of the scope. Participating countries will help shape the program to reflect their priorities and health systems.

“As a pediatrician, I know how critical the moments surrounding birth are for babies and their families—and how much is at stake when complications arise,” said Anita Zaidi, president of the Gender Equality Division at the Gates Foundation. Regina E. Dugan, CEO of Wellcome Leap, emphasized the urgency, stating: “By the time you read this paragraph, another baby will be stillborn.”

Dugan added that stillbirth is not an inevitable tragedy and that new tools and science exist to change outcomes. The effort will build on technologies from Wellcome Leap’s In Utero program and innovations supported by the Maternal, Newborn, Child Nutrition and Health (MNCNH) program at the Gates Foundation. Both organizations are calling on investors, philanthropies, governments, and other partners to join the effort.

Uzima expects to identify an initial package of innovations by early 2027 and announce its first participating country partner in the coming months. Following the initial three-year phase, the program will work with participating countries to implement and expand the approaches that prove most effective. While Uzima is focused on settings where the burden is highest, many innovations will have broad applications in middle- and high-income countries. Underserved, rural, and resource-constrained communities are expected to benefit as well. The longer-term goal is to generate evidence that helps effective tools reach more health workers, women, and families worldwide.