Centers of Excellence
Over the last 20 years, Gates 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 Gates Institute works collaboratively with partner institutions to build scientific and programmatic leadership skills by strengthening postgraduate training, conducting research to benefit communities, and promoting evidence-based reproductive health policies.
The Gates Institute is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of individuals and institutions in developing countries to address the countries’ population development and reproductive health needs.
The Gates Institute has convened leadership gatherings around family planning almost annually since 2002. The first four were held in Baltimore: Family Planning in New Worlds (2002), Family Planning and the Workforce (2003), Parliamentarian Leadership Seminar (2004) and Obstetric Fistula prevention (2005).
In 2006 the Regional Conference on Family Planning and HIV Integration was held in Ethiopia, and in 2008 the International Research Conference on Youth and Development was held in Abuja, Nigeria.
In 2009 the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) series began in Uganda, followed by Senegal in 2011, Ethiopia in 2013 and Indonesia in 2016. In 2016 over 3,200 researchers, advocates, ministers, journalists and youth gathered to discuss family planning, solidifying its importance on the global health and development agenda.
After many of these conferences, papers were screened and edited for journal publication, with supplements occurring in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (August 2015 and November 2013), the African Journal of Reproductive Health and the Global Public Health Journal.
Global Collaborations
The Gates Institute has had ongoing collaborations with universities in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda. Investing in leadership development and strengthening institutional capacities have, in turn, guided communities and households to become their own producers of health while protecting the well-being of their members.
To share lessons learned, partners met at least once a year to discuss progress, successes, challenges and solutions in their academic programs and community-oriented initiatives. Partners have developed enduring relationships with one another, with Gates Institute–affiliated faculty and students and with other resource experts.