Gates Foundation AI-Enabled Consumer Engagement for Family Planning

Overview This Grand Challenges request for proposals sought AI-enabled consumer-engagement approaches that could improve contraceptive uptake, continuation and informed method choice among women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa. The goal was to deploy and evaluate conversational tools that provide personalised, locally relevant family-planning information at scale. Funding and duration Awards of up to US$500,000 were available for projects lasting up to 12 months. Budgets could include indirect costs of up to 15%, subject to the Gates Foundation's policy. What projects needed to deliver Proposals needed a credible evaluation design covering interaction quality, safety, confidentiality, reach and downstream family-planning outcomes. The grant period was intended for deployment, learning and evaluation, not for first acquiring users or negotiating platform access. Deadline The call closed on 25 August 2026 at 11:30 PDT.

Eligible applicants included nonprofit organisations, for-profit companies, international organisations, government agencies and academic institutions. Applicants needed an existing women's-health or consumer-health engagement approach, an established user base or distribution relationship and activity in at least one target country: Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Senegal, Niger, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia or Côte d'Ivoire.