The Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity has announced the launch of a major new philanthropic initiative committed to accelerating maternal and newborn survival in Africa. The Beginnings Fund will work in partnership with African governments, national organisations, and experts in 10 countries with the aim of preventing more than 300,000 deaths and enhancing access to quality care for 34 million mothers and babies.

Over the next five years, the initiative aims to deploy $500m for targeted investments into the products, people, and systems required to improve and scale maternal and newborn health.

It will operate in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, delivering low-cost interventions and personnel in high-burden hospitals, tracking and targeting the key reasons babies and mothers die.

Newborn deaths in the first month of life are the single biggest driver of mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70 percent of maternal deaths also occur. Most of these deaths are preventable with trained health workers providing essential care to mothers and babies. Yet maternal and newborn health remains one of the most addressable yet underfunded areas in global health. 

The announcement from Abu Dhabi comes at a critcal moment for global development, when many international aid budgets are being slashed for a mix of political and economic reasons.

The Beginnings Fund will support a number of programmes including: the supply of drugs to prevent, detect, and treat postpartum hemorrhage in real time; greater access to antibiotics to minimise the risk of infections and other pregnancy complications; the provision of equipment and the roll-out of Kangaroo Mother Care protocols to address common newborn complications such as respiratory distress, asphyxia, and hypothermia; and better training for midwives and neonatal nurses.

The UAE’s newly-unveiled Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity has committed US$125m to the fund. This anchor donation unlocked matched funding from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Delta Philanthropies, The ELMA Foundation, and Gates Foundation, and further contributions from Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Patchwork Collective, and others.

The launch for the Beginnings Fund took place in April 2025 at Kanad Hospital in Al Ain, the first modern hospital to be established in Abu Dhabi.

The event was attended by Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Development and Fallen Heroes’ Affairs, and Chairman of Erth Zayed Philanthropies, of which the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity is an affiliate. He was joined by Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other key partners, including severan African health ministers.

“In the earliest days of the UAE, our nation faced high maternal and newborn mortality rates,” explained Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “This journey taught us the profound importance of quality healthcare that is available to all, at every stage of life, and this knowledge continues to guide us today. We are honored to support the Beginnings Fund in giving more mothers and children the opportunity of a healthy start.”

Minister of Health for Ethiopia, Dr Mekdes Daba, who attended the launch, said: “Mothers and newborns should not be dying from causes we know how to prevent. We all have a shared responsibility to build resilient and well-resourced health systems that can safeguard the life of every pregnant woman and newborn.”

She added: “With the right investments and innovations, countries around the world have succeeded in transforming maternal and newborn care. There is no reason that we cannot do the same.”

The fund will be headquartered in Nairobi and led by CEO Alice Kang’ethe, the former global Chief Operating Officer at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

“African governments, with support from philanthropic and bilateral organisations, are at the forefront of advancing maternal and newborn health and making groundbreaking innovations,” she said. “The continent is making remarkable strides, but achieving lasting change requires collaborative action.”

Zimbabwean philanthropist Tanya Masiyiwa, president and CEO of Delta Philanthropies, hailed the fund’s collaborative model, which brings together donors from across the Global South and Global North in partnership with African governments, and she called on more African philanthropies to support the fund.

“Never have we witnessed such a concerted effort by donors, national governments and other partners in collaborating to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Africa,” she said. “As Delta Philanthropies, we have seen first-hand how collective investments drive real, transformative change… We hope that other African philanthropic organisations can join us on this important journey.”

Sir Chris Hohn, founder and chair of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, said: “Mothers and babies dying in childbirth from preventable causes is a travesty – but ending this travesty is within our reach. Working with African governments, the Beginnings Fund will have a profound impact, giving millions of children a healthy start in life.” And he urged other donors to “step up” to “improve delivery of life-saving interventions to ensure African mothers and children survive and thrive”. 

The Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity is an affiliate of Erth Zayed Philanthropies, which was established in November 2024 by Federal Decree to align and strengthen the UAE’s global philanthropic efforts. – PA