The Gates Foundation has awarded the University of Washington a record $540 million over 10 years to support IHME. The funding will expand IHME’s Global Burden of Disease study from about 925 locations toward nearly 5,000 and strengthen long-range health forecasting through 2100. It will also broaden health-financing tracking across 204 countries to help target resources more effectively. Leaders say the long-term grant will produce local, independent evidence to guide policies that save lives.
Gates Foundation Pledges Record $540M to University of Washington to Expand IHME's Global Health Research
The University of Washington has received its largest grant ever - $540 million from the Gates Foundation.getty
The University of Washington has received its largest-ever single grant: a $540 million, 10-year award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent research unit based at UW and part of the UW School of Medicine.
What the Grant Will Fund
The investment will allow IHME to accelerate and broaden its Global Burden of Disease study — the world’s most comprehensive, systematic effort to measure deaths, illness, disability, injuries, and health risks. IHME currently produces estimates for roughly 925 locations; the grant funds a planned expansion toward nearly 5,000 geographic locations in the years ahead, enabling much finer local analysis.
Part of the award will strengthen IHME’s long-range health forecasting and future-scenarios work. The institute generates forecasts through the year 2100 for every country, helping policymakers anticipate demographic shifts, emerging disease trends, and evolving health risks. IHME says it will more tightly integrate these forecasts with its most recent burden-of-disease findings so decision-makers can better design and target prevention strategies and policies.
The grant will also expand IHME’s health-financing tracking, which currently compiles comprehensive accounts of health expenditure across 204 countries. Those data help governments and funders evaluate whether money reaches the populations, diseases, and places with the greatest need.
"Reliable and independent evidence can mean the difference between reacting to a health crisis after it has taken hold and acting early enough to change its course," said Dr. Christopher J.L. Murray, IHME Director and Professor of Health Metrics Sciences. "This investment will allow us to provide high-quality evidence at a much more local level and help leaders understand not only where health is improving or worsening, but which decisions can make the greatest difference for people."
Background and Broader Impact
IHME was founded in 2007 with early support from the Gates Foundation and has grown into one of the world’s leading centers for health metrics. Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, said the long-term award reflects the foundation’s trust in IHME’s ability to provide a shared evidence base that informs decisions to improve—and save—millions of lives.
The Gates Foundation itself—founded in 2000—has invested more than $102.3 billion across global health and development, U.S. education, and economic mobility over its first 25 years. Bill Gates has said that he intends to donate the bulk of his remaining wealth over the coming decades and that the foundation will wind down by mid-century to focus efforts on a few core priorities.
"The Gates Foundation has been a steadfast partner of the University of Washington for decades, and we are grateful for its generous support," said UW President Robert J. Jones. "This investment will expand IHME's already significant impact and help improve health outcomes around the world."
This report is based on original coverage published on Forbes.com.
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