UNITED NATIONS, New York – Every day, millions of women live with pain, illness and undiagnosed medical conditions – suffering that is often dismissed or misunderstood. Less than 1 per cent of global research focuses on women’s health, and as a result women spend an average of nine more years in poor health than men. This is an inequity that reflects not biology, but bias.
To change this, UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, and Organon, a global healthcare company committed to advancing women’s health, have joined forces. Between 2023 and 2024, they jointly launched the 4HerPower Challenge, in collaboration with MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The challenge aims to find, fund and support innovative solutions that improve access to contraception and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries, prioritizing the unique needs of adolescent girls and young women.
The collaboration operates on multiple fronts, from high-level advocacy dialogues on innovation in South-East Asia to mobilizing critical partners for the delivery of essential maternal health services. At its core, the partnership is about turning innovation into impact, advancing transformative solutions that place women’s health needs where they belong: at the centre of global development.
Empowering the next generation of female innovators
A total of 14 women-led teams from across the world received $280,000 in funding supporting grants. They also gained access to a six-month accelerator programme.
Together, the winners have already reached more than 230,000 women and girls.
For example, in Mexico, Violetta, an AI-powered chatbot supporting survivors of gender-based violence, reached over 255,000 users, earning its founders a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 Mexico. Meanwhile, in Kenya, Ari the Pad ATM expanded from 7 to 50 school-based dispensers of sanitary pads — reducing absenteeism and restoring dignity for more than 1,400 girls.
Turning research into real-world for everyone
Through UNFPA’s WomenX Collective programme, Organon’s investments support the introduction and scale-up of proven, high-impact health solutions. These investments act as a springboard to attract additional financing and extend the reach of innovations that improve women’s health and lives.
In 2025, the WomenX Collective is deploying three key solutions: in Uganda, self-injectable contraception; in Côte d’Ivoire, digitized supply chain systems; and in the Philippines, telemedicine services reaching places with high maternal mortality and unmet need for contraception.
WomenX supports these platforms to enhance access and quality care and lays the foundation for sustainable financing to expand the model nationwide.
pathways across the Philippines. @UNFPA
Partnering for the future
Noha Salem, Global Women's Health Policy Lead at Organon said, “We believe that collaboration is not just a tool, it is the heartbeat of innovation. We are honoured to partner with UNFPA to drive meaningful change and advance a shared vision of a world where the health of women and girls is valued and protected at every stage of life.”
Another achievement of the partnership has been the pilot of an AI-powered service, the NeMa Smartbot. Introduced in India, the tool was developed in collaboration with the Maternity Foundation, a Danish nonprofit, and Neuvo Inc.
The Smartbot was created together with midwives and integrated into Safe Delivery App, which is already widely used by healthcare providers to offer instant, offline access to life-saving, evidence-based guidelines for managing pregnancy and childbirth complications.
Pilot tests conducted with two midwifery institutes in India found that it accurately and reliably answered hundreds of clinical questions, even when operating offline in areas with limited connectivity.
Dr. Nigina Muntean, Chief of the Innovation and Transformation Branch at UNFPA, said, “As we reach the two-year milestone of our strategic partnership, we celebrate the progress made and reaffirm our shared commitment to revolutionizing women's health and closing the health gap by supporting female-led innovations and scaling what works.”
