BAMA Named Awardee of $250M Global Women’s Health Initiative

We’re proud to share that BAMA has been selected as an awardee of Action for Women’s Health, a $250 million global open call supporting bold, community-driven solutions to women’s mental and physical health challenges. Without you this day would never be possible for BAMA.

This initiative — funded by Pivotal, founded by Melinda French Gates in 2015 and managed by Lever for Change — selected just 80+ awardees from a pool of over 4,000 organizations across 119 countries. Each one brings a unique approach rooted in lived experience, trust, and deep understanding of the communities they serve. We’re honored to be among them.

Why this matters

Women make up half the world’s population, yet continue to face deep inequities in access to quality, culturally relevant care. At BAMA, we’ve spent years walking alongside women in our community — listening, learning, and building care that reflects who they are and what they need.

“This recognition means the approach we’ve refined — rooted in trust and local knowledge — is not only valid, but vital. It also means we can now do more of what works, and bring it to more women, more consistently. We’re beyond grateful to all funders – this is a big milestone for us and great recognition for the whole BAMA team” (Dr. Daniel Murokora, BAMA Co-Founder & Executive Director). 

What this support makes possible

This award comes with funding between $1 million and $5 million. For BAMA, that means:

• Scaling programs that have been running on shoestrings

• Hiring and training more local Staff

• Reaching more women in underserved areas

• Investing in better tools, systems, and community partnerships

And most importantly: continuing to build with the communities who have trusted us from the beginning.

BAMA’s celebration 

This morning, when the embargo was lifted, we could finally share the news with our Staff in Uganda and our international Board of Directors. We paused the daily activities, cheered out loud, popped champagne bottles, and enjoyed delicious chocolate cake. It’s not every day that you wake up to such great news – and we wanted to make sure that every Staff feels seen and knows that their work has greatly contributed to this award. 

“When we got the news, our team cried. Not just tears of joy — but of deep recognition. For over 20 years, we’ve been walking with women who’ve been overlooked, unheard, and underserved. We’ve built this work from the ground up, often with limited resources but unlimited resolve. This big award is overwhelming in the best way. We’re so grateful — to Action for Women’s Health, to our community, our team, and to every woman who trusts us. This moment is ours.” (Dr Marc Sklar, Co-Founder and ED BAMA USA). 

What’s next

We’re not changing course — we’re doubling down. This support gives us fuel, but the approach stays the same: to create partnerships that transform the quality of reproductive, maternal, and newborn care.

We’ll be sharing updates in the months ahead on how we’re using this momentum to celebrate and move forward.

Thank you

To our partners, donors, our team, and the women who make our work possible — thank you. This moment belongs to all of us.

And a big thank you also to the local district government partners, Ministry of Health, health providers, and our brave mothers in Uganda.

Without you this day would never be possible.

About the Open Call

Pivotal and Lever for Change have announced the 80+ awardees of the Action for Women’s Health global open call.

Action for Women’s Health is a $250 million global open call to support organizations improving women’s mental and physical health around the world. The open call is funded by Pivotal, a group of impact organizations founded by Melinda French Gates, and managed by Lever for Change, an organization with a track record of identifying bold ideas to solve the world’s most pressing problems.

More information here: https://leverforchange.org/open-calls/action-for-womens-health/ 

About the Awardees – Global Solutions to Address Women’s Health

Over 4,000 organizations from 119 countries applied, offering solutions across the lifespan for women.

After a thoughtful peer and expert review process, 80+ organizations have received between $1 million and $5 million in funding, many of whom have historically lacked access to major funding streams.

Each of the awardees takes a unique approach to their work, shaped by local context, community needs, and lived experience. From bringing reproductive health services to rural communities to ensuring women have access to culturally relevant mental health care, the awardee organizations are delivering innovative, scalable, and equitable solutions to the women who depend on them. The organizations also focus on areas including maternal and perinatal health, furthering public health and education, and ensuring communities’ access to quality health care.

The majority of the awardees (over 65%) are community-based organizations working within their home countries across six continents.

The grant to our organization has been made through a donor-advised fund supported by Pivotal at National Philanthropic Trust (NPT).

Read the official award announcement here.