Tiko, an African organization headquartered in Cape Town, has been named an awardee of Action for Women’s Health — a landmark global women’s health initiative launched by Pivotal, a group of organizations founded by philanthropist Melinda French Gates.
In 2024, Pivotal, in partnership with Lever for Change, launched Action for Women’s Health: a $250 million global open call to support organizations working to improve women’s mental and physical health around the world. The call drew applications from thousands of organizations across more than 100 countries. Tiko, which uses technology to transform reproductive health and wellbeing for adolescent girls across the continent, was one of just over 80 organizations selected worldwide to receive this recognition.
The recognition comes as Melinda French Gates announced an additional $215 million in global funding for women’s health in June 2026, bringing her total commitment to women’s health to more than $600 million in just the last two years. Tiko’s selection as an Action for Women’s Health awardee places it among a distinguished global cohort of organizations advancing community-led innovation in women’s and girls’ health.
For French Gates, supporting organizations like Tiko reflects a deliberate commitment to African-led innovation in women’s health. “Too often, women’s and girls’ health concerns are either downplayed or downright ignored,” she said. “But organizations like Tiko are doing extraordinary work to change that—because they’re rooted in their communities and understand what it takes to get girls the care they need. The practical, sustainable solutions they’ve created are not only changing lives across the African continent, they’re also showing the world the value of community-led solutions. Their success gives me hope for what’s possible when we support leaders close to the problems they’re solving.”
Tiko connects adolescent girls and young women to free sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing services through a network of community mobilisers, clinics, and local retailers — accessible via a simple QR code or SMS. Crucially, the platform runs on backend technology, meaning girls and young women do not need a smartphone to access the care Tiko provides. Tiko’s technology tracks referrals, verifies service delivery, and generates real-time data — enabling end-to-end care that addresses what Tiko calls the “triple threat” facing girls: HIV, unintended pregnancy, and sexual violence. The model is designed to remove the most persistent barriers to care: cost, distance, and judgment. To date, Tiko has reached more than two million girls across the continent.
For Serah Malaba, Co-CEO of Tiko, the recognition marks a significant milestone for the organization and the communities it serves. She notes, “Girls in Africa are navigating complex health systems and they cannot wait. Recognition from Melinda French Gates’ Action for Women’s Health validates what we’ve known all along: meeting girls where they are with responsive care is non-negotiable. This catalytic support gives us the momentum to scale quickly, reaching more girls with the radical urgency and uncompromising care that every girl’s future demands.”
Tiko’s recognition through the Action for Women’s Health initiative is a testament to the power of African-led innovation in women’s health — and to the growing global conversation about the solutions being built on the continent.
