SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being | SDG 5: Gender Equality
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare | Department of Health Research
The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 report ‘Women’s Health Investment Outlook 2026’ identifies a critical global imbalance, where women’s health receives only 6% of total private healthcare investment despite women comprising nearly 50% of the population. This disparity is even more acute for women’s health-specific companies, which capture less than 1% of total capital. Currently, 80% of funding events are concentrated in just three areas: reproductive health, maternal care, and women’s cancers.
Severe Underfunding: High-prevalence conditions such as endometriosis, menopause, and PCOS remain significantly under-addressed and underfunded.
Market Immaturity: 50% of private investment in women’s health-specific firms is at the pre-seed or seed stages, indicating a lack of scale-ready assets compared to the broader healthcare market.
Geographic Disparity: Funding activity is dominated by North America and Europe, leaving low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) underrepresented despite their high disease burden.
Economic Potential and Opportunity Areas
The report introduces the Women’s Health Investment Index to track global capital flows and identify “white space” opportunities. Addressing high-burden conditions like cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, menopause, and Alzheimer’s could unlock a market exceeding 100 billion dollars in the U.S. alone by 2030.
Women’s Cancer Therapeutics: Focused on biopharmaceutical treatments for cancers affecting women uniquely, such as breast and ovarian cancer.
Virtual Care and Benefits: Digital platforms offering integrated services for reproductive, fertility, and menopausal care.
Remote Maternal Monitoring: Utilizing wearables, AI, and telehealth for prenatal and postpartum care.
Mental Health Platforms: Specialized digital tools for postpartum depression and hormone-related mood changes.
Longevity and Metabolic Health: Concierge services for midlife wellness and wearable technologies for managing gestational diabetes and insulin resistance.
Framework for Strategic Action
To scale investment and transform women’s health into a cohesive asset class, the report outlines six imperatives for multistakeholder action.
Evidence and Capital: Building a demand-driven evidence base to de-risk investment and mobilizing capital through blended finance and partnerships.
Regulation and Reimbursement: Modernizing clinical end-points to accelerate market entry and expanding reimbursement models to create predictable revenue streams.
Ecosystem Transparency: Encouraging participation from adjacent healthcare players and increasing transparency regarding economic returns and clinical outcomes.
Policy Relevance
The report’s findings are critically significant for India’s healthcare architecture, where women face a high burden of both maternal mortality and rising non-communicable diseases. For Indian policy stakeholders, transitioning toward a comprehensive life-cycle approach is essential for achieving long-term developmental goals.
Macroeconomic Resilience: Addressing the health gap in India can strengthen productivity and long-term GDP growth by increasing female labour participation and reducing health-related absenteeism.
Digital Health Integration: India’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission can leverage the report’s focus on virtual care and remote monitoring to bridge access gaps in rural and underserved regions.
Indigenous Innovation: By modernizing regulatory end-points and providing blended finance, India can incentivize its domestic pharmaceutical and medtech sectors to lead in low-cost, high-impact women-specific diagnostics and therapeutics.
Follow the full report here: Women’s Health Investment Outlook