The top health grantees of the Gates Foundation in 2025

The Gates Foundation awarded a total of $4.5 billion in grants in 2025, according to figures from the foundation — a steep dip from last year, which saw $5.4 billion. With big donors slowly reducing their aid, philanthropies such as the Gates Foundation are more essential now than they were before. Gates is a pillar in global health funding, providing billions yearly to address pressing issues all over the world. However, time is ticking. By 2045, the foundation will be closing its doors. Its founder, Bill Gates, has announced plans to pour most of his wealth into the foundation. This will allow the foundation to fund up to $200 billion before it says goodbye. With global health at the forefront, how much does the Gates Foundation actually spend on global health? Who did it give its money to last year? In this article, we will look at the top grantees for projects focused only on global health. We will also touch on the top grantees of the other divisions funded by the foundation, as well as the top grantees that are based in the global south. Where did the money go? A significant proportion of the grants — around $1.2 billion — went to programs focusing on global health. Global development programs received $804.1 million. Global growth and opportunity programs received $732.5 million, gender equality programs received $659.1 million, and U.S. programs got $426.5 million. Multidivision programs — projects that encompass multiple divisions — received a total of $567.7 million. Gates categorizes its recipients into regions served. The region that got the most money was Africa with $1.4 billion. Asia received $659.3 million, the Americas got nearly $519 million, Europe got $15.9 million, and Oceania received $2.1 million. Programs that cover multiple countries in different regions received $1.1 billion. Who were the overall top grantees? World Health Organization The World Health Organization received the biggest amount of money — $258.6 million — for 38 grants. The largest of these amounted to $60 million to end the transmission of a polio virus variant. Imperial College London Imperial College London received a total of $85.9 million for seven grants. The biggest of these amounted to $76.8 million to progress mosquito biocontrol in Africa. University of Washington Foundation The University of Washington Foundation, or UWF, received $73.6 million for 24 grants. The largest of these amounted to $25.7 million to improve global health outcomes for underserved populations through the development of AI-driven protein design tools for vaccines, therapeutics, or other health interventions. Who were the top health grantees? Imperial College London In terms of health-related grants, Imperial College London tops the list with five contracts amounting to $81.6 million. WHO WHO comes in second with 14 awards worth $54.1 million. The largest of these amounted to $18.7 million to support the detection and tracking of public health threats in global, regional, and country levels. The General Hospital Corporation as Massachusetts General Hospital The GHC, also known as the Massachusetts General Hospital, received eight awards, totalling $42.9 million. The largest of these amounted to $16.6 million to develop therapeutics, reduce HIV transmission, and improve pregnancy outcomes. ICF Incorporated, LLC ICF received a single award worth $39.4 million to collect and publicize high-quality, comparable health indicator data from low- and middle-income countries. UWF UWF received seven awards for health-related projects, totaling $36.4 million. Who were the top grantees from different divisions? Global Development WHO is the top grantee, with 19 grants totaling $199.7 million. Global Growth & Opportunity The Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo, or CIMMT, received six grants under this division, amounting to $62.3 million. The largest of these amounted to nearly $20 million to improve access to advanced crop breeding programs for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Gender Equality Co-Impact Philanthropic Funds received the most grants under this division, with a single grant worth $50 million to increase women’s representation in law and economics in the global south. US Program WestEd received six awards, totalling $16.2 million. The largest of these amounted to $5.4 million to provide expert data privacy, policy, and legal technical assistance to public agencies. Global Policy and Advocacy The National Philanthropic Trust is the top awardee in this division, receiving a single grant worth $15 million to provide support to Bloomberg Philanthropies. Executive UWF received three awards worth $11.5 million. The biggest of these amounted to $10 million to support the construction of the campus’ Welcome Center, which will serve as a hub for students and guests to learn about the university’s history and culture. Finance and Resource Planning The African Population & Health Research Center received a single award worth $1.6 million to increase the financial management skills and capacities of partner organizations. Communications The UWF also tops this division. It received a single award worth $2.5 million to produce an analysis for a data report. <div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1768819851925' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;Ga&#47;Gates2025-TopGrantees&#47;Dashboard1&#47;1_rss.png' style='border: none' /></a></noscript><object class='tableauViz' style='display:none;'><param name='host_url' value='https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.tableau.com%2F' /> <param name='embed_code_version' value='3' /> <param name='site_root' value='' /><param name='name' value='Gates2025-TopGrantees&#47;Dashboard1' /><param name='tabs' value='no' /><param name='toolbar' value='yes' /><param name='static_image' value='https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;Ga&#47;Gates2025-TopGrantees&#47;Dashboard1&#47;1.png' /> <param name='animate_transition' value='yes' /><param name='display_static_image' value='yes' /><param name='display_spinner' value='yes' /><param name='display_overlay' value='yes' /><param name='display_count' value='yes' /><param name='language' value='en-US' /></object></div><param name='device' value='desktop' /><param name='showShareOptions' value='false' /> <script type='text/javascript'> var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1768819851925'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height='927px';} var scriptElement = document.createElement('script'); scriptElement.src = 'https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js'; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement); </script> <i style=font-style: georgia;”>Gates’ top grantees and region served in 2025.</i> Who were the top grantees from the global south? In this section, we will look at the top grantees that are based in the global south. Two WHO offices made the list: the Pakistan country office and the regional office for Africa. We have omitted them since they are also part of the WHO system. CIMMT CIMMT is an organization based in Mexico. It received six awards worth a total of $62.3 million. Wits Health Consortium Wits Health Consortium is headquartered in South Africa. It received 26 grants, amounting to $34.5 million. The biggest of these amounted to $5.2 million to support the prospective recruitment of a maternal-infant cohort. Aga Khan University The Aga Khan University, which is based in Pakistan, received 17 grants worth $30.3 million in total. The biggest of these amounted to $10 million to generate high-dimensional primary data on maternal/newborn risks in Pakistan. International Livestock Research Institute The International Livestock Research Institute, which is headquartered in Kenya, received two awards, amounting to $30.1 million. The largest of these amounted to $27.1 million to develop sustainable livestock innovations in livestock systems in Africa. International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore The International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore, or IITB, is based in India. It received three awards, amounting to $28.8 million in total. The largest of these amounted to $24 million to support inclusive digital identity systems to enable governments to deliver trusted, privacy-preserving services to underserved populations. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.