About this opportunity
Applications are now open for the Gates Foundation Grand Challenges 2026: AI-Enabled Consumer Engagement to Advance Family Planning , a funding opportunity supporting innovative AI-powered solutions that improve access to family planning information and services for women and girls across Sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative seeks projects that generate evidence on how artificial intelligence can improve contraceptive uptake, informed method choice, and continuation through safe, effective, and scalable consumer engagement.
Funding Successful applicants may receive: Up to US$500,000 per project A grant period of up to 12 months Opportunity to contribute to the global evidence base on AI-enabled family planning Access to the Grand Challenges innovation ecosystem and global visibility.
Eligibility
The call is open globally to: Nonprofit organisations For-profit companies Academic and research institutions International organisations Government agencies Multi-stakeholder partnerships and collaborations. However, applicants must have an existing consumer engagement intervention and operational presence in one or more target countries in Sub-Saharan Africa .
Priority Countries Preference will be given to projects operating in: Nigeria Ethiopia Democratic Republic of the Congo Tanzania Senegal Niger Kenya South Africa Zambia Côte d’Ivoire. What the Foundation Is Looking For Proposals should demonstrate AI-enabled approaches that: Improve access to family planning information and services Support informed contraceptive choice Increase contraceptive uptake and continuation Generate evidence on effective AI-driven consumer engagement Measure user outcomes, interaction quality, safety, and confidentiality Produce practical tools and learning that can benefit the wider global health community.
Eligibility
Applicants should: Have an existing consumer engagement platform or intervention with an active user base Demonstrate experience in women’s health, family planning, or consumer health Be ready to deploy and evaluate an AI-enabled solution during the grant period Show a credible evaluation plan with measurable outcomes Use locally relevant family planning information aligned with national Ministry of Health or WHO guidance. Why This Matters Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform how health information reaches women and girls, particularly in low-resource settings.
Through this Grand Challenges initiative, the Gates Foundation aims to identify scalable, evidence-based AI solutions that can strengthen family planning programmes and improve reproductive health outcomes across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Application timeline
August 25, 2026 (11:30 a. m.
Pacific Time).
Application steps
Interested organisations can review the full
Eligibility
and submit their applications through the official Grand Challenges portal:
Sources and verification
- Official source , Discovered by the opportunity automation module.
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