About the W. H. Gates Sr. Institute

What We Do

Founded with the mission of Scholarship and Science for Social Change, the William H. Gates Sr. Institute (WHGI) has been a trailblazer for innovation in the fields of family planning, reproductive health, and population dynamics for over 25 years. Launched in 1999 in response to a global need for investments in effective family planning and reproductive health programs and research efforts, WHGI builds on the Bloomberg School’s global public health leadership and translates science into action. Of the more than 370 institutions and local governments we have partnered with since our establishment, more than 90% are based in the global south. This network allows us to use a synergistic approach to create positive disruptions through the Institute’s six Global Programs and across our diverse platforms.

WHGI works collaboratively with partner institutions to build scientific and programmatic leadership skills by conducting research to benefit communities, promote evidence-based reproductive health policies, and strengthen both health governance and technical capacities. The Institute has grown to become the home of innovative thinking and a global leader in revitalizing family planning and reproductive health on national, regional, and global policy and research agendas.

A Global Leader in Family Planning

In 1997, a two-year planning grant from what would become the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spawned an institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHBSPH) to build population and reproductive health capacity in the developing world.

In 1999 the Gates Foundation provided an additional $20 million to establish the William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (formerly Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health) at JHSPH, capitalizing on the school’s global public health leadership.

Over the last two decades, the Institute has worked with more than 200 partners of which over 90% are southern-based. The Institute has grown to become the home of innovative thinking and a global leader in revitalizing reproductive health and gender equality on national and international policy and research agendas.

Scholarship and science for social change.

Throughout the Institute’s history our tagline has remained its guide: scholarship and science for social change.

The William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health launched in 1999 in response to a global need for investments in effective family planning and reproductive health programs and research efforts. Building on the Bloomberg School’s global public health leadership, the Institute’s work translates science into action with programs in 27 countries.

Two decades later, the Institute celebrates progress to date and forges new commitments to increase access to family planning and to improve reproductive health for women and men, communities and countries across the world.

Preparing for the NextGen

The Institute has continued to build upon an essential pillar of our work by identifying, encouraging and preparing this next generation of family planning and reproductive health leaders.

The Institute works collaboratively with partner institutions to build scientific and programmatic leadership skills by conducting research to benefit communities, promote evidence-based reproductive health policies, and strengthen both health governance and technical capacities.

The Institute is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of individuals and institutions in low- and middle-income countries to address the countries’ population development and reproductive health needs.