With landmark 10-year investment, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation will deliver more local, timely health evidence worldwide
Our take
The news coming out of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is legitimately big – a ten-year, landmark grant from the Gates Foundation signals a serious commitment to bolstering health evidence globally. This isn’t just about funding research; it's about ensuring that critical data informing public health policy is accessible, rigorous, and delivered with the speed needed to address evolving challenges. Considering the recent concerns raised about biases creeping into even the most advanced AI systems, as highlighted in AI models nearly erase female characters when they write kids stories about animals, the emphasis on scientific rigor within the IHME’s work feels particularly vital. The free and open access nature of this evidence is crucial, and it’s a testament to the power of independent research institutions to serve as reliable sources of information amidst a sea of often-conflicting narratives.
The IHME’s work has long been influential, providing data-driven insights that have shaped global health initiatives. This extended funding period allows for a level of stability and long-term planning that’s often missing in research funding cycles, enabling the institute to deepen its analysis, expand its reach, and refine its methodologies. It’s also worth noting the broader context of academic freedom, as exemplified by the recent Statement on cancellation of January 2027 lecture. Maintaining independent research, free from undue political or commercial influence, is essential for producing the objective evidence needed to tackle complex global issues. The potential impact of this investment extends far beyond Washington state, providing tools and insights that can inform policy decisions in resource-limited settings and contribute to a more equitable distribution of health resources worldwide. And, with discoveries like NASA’s Hubble shows star formation in Andromeda galaxy winding down demonstrating the long timescales involved in cosmological processes, the IHME’s decade-long horizon feels almost refreshingly grounded in the immediacy of human need.
The true value of this grant lies not just in the funding itself, but in the signal it sends about the importance of evidence-based decision-making. Public health challenges, from pandemic preparedness to chronic disease management, demand clear, reliable data. The IHME’s ability to generate and disseminate this data, coupled with the Gates Foundation’s commitment, creates a powerful partnership that can drive real-world impact. It also highlights the growing recognition that effective health interventions require a nuanced understanding of local contexts—the promise of “more local, timely health evidence” is particularly compelling. This focus on locality is critical because broad, sweeping policy prescriptions often fail to account for the unique challenges and opportunities within different communities. Furthermore, the ten-year timeframe allows for the longitudinal study of interventions, providing insights into long-term effectiveness and unintended consequences.
Looking ahead, the most important question is how the IHME will leverage this expanded capacity to address emerging health threats and inequalities. Will the institute prioritize research on climate change and its impact on human health? How will it ensure that its data and insights are accessible and actionable for policymakers and community leaders in diverse cultural and linguistic contexts? The commitment to free and open access is a strong start, but ongoing efforts to translate complex data into user-friendly formats and to engage with stakeholders across the globe will be essential to maximizing the impact of this significant investment. Ultimately, the success of this initiative will be measured not just by the volume of data generated, but by its ability to improve the health and well-being of people around the world.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent research organization at the University of Washington, has received a landmark 10-year grant from the Gates Foundation to strengthen freely available, scientifically rigorous health evidence used by governments, researchers, and leaders to improve the health and well-being of people in Washington, the United States, and around the world.
IHME is part of the UW School of Medicine, and the $540.2 million investment will provide long-term support for expanding the Global Burden of Disease study to provide health data for thousands of new areas. GBD is the most comprehensive assessment of health trends and conditions across countries. Under the grant, GBD will expand from roughly 925 locations today to nearly 5,000 — a major expansion in the geographic detail available to the people making decisions. The grant will also support IHME’s health forecasting and future-scenarios work, and its tracking of health spending worldwide.
Together, these resources help decision-makers, researchers, and health professionals understand the health challenges people face today, anticipate what is coming next, and determine how limited resources can be used most effectively to improve health.
“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.”
Murray, the grant’s principal investigator, started the Global Burden of Disease study in the early 1990s and has led its development since, in collaboration with a global research network now spanning more than 150 countries and territories.
The Gates Foundation, along with the state of Washington, provided the founding investment that established IHME at the University of Washington in 2007, creating an independent institute dedicated to measuring the world’s most pressing health challenges and evaluating whether policies and programs are improving people’s lives. Its sustained support has helped build the field of health metrics itself. IHME has developed many of the methods and standards the field now relies on and has helped collaborators contribute to the field as well. The new grant builds on that longstanding partnership and provides a base for IHME’s next phase of growth.
“Every government and funder faces difficult decisions about where to invest limited resources for greatest impact, and those decisions depend on trusted evidence,” said Mark Suzman, Chief Executive Officer of the Gates Foundation. “For nearly two decades, IHME has been one of the foundation’s most important global partners, helping us, governments, researchers, and global health partners around the world understand where health is improving, where progress is stalling, and where action is needed most. Our long-term commitment recognizes the value of this work to strengthen a shared evidence base that will continue to inform decisions to improve—and save—millions of lives.”
The Global Burden of Disease network has grown to more than 20,000 collaborators in over 150 countries and territories: researchers, clinicians, government analysts, and policymakers who contribute to the study’s data and methods and carry health measurement into their own institutions and ministries. This next phase of IHME’s work is an opportunity to consolidate that foundation and extend it considerably further.
The grant comes as countries confront overlapping health threats and growing pressure on public and global health budgets. By producing more detailed, timely, and forward-looking evidence, IHME aims to help leaders identify urgent needs, prepare health systems, and invest in policies and programs most likely to prevent illness, disability, and premature death.
The award is the largest charitable grant ever given to the University of Washington.
“The Gates Foundation has been a steadfast partner of the University of Washington for decades, and we are grateful for its generous support. The UW is committed to improving the health of people in Washington and around the world, and this investment will expand IHME’s already significant impact, which will mean longer, healthier lives for countless people,” said UW President Robert J. Jones.
IHME’s research and findings are freely available to countries, researchers, and communities regardless of their income or access to commercial data systems.
“We are deeply grateful to the Gates Foundation for this extraordinary investment in IHME and the University of Washington School of Medicine,” said Dr. Timothy Dellit, CEO of UW Medicine and dean of the University of Washington School of Medicine. “Their longstanding partnership has helped make it possible for IHME to deliver trusted health evidence around the world. This new grant will extend that impact by giving leaders data that are comprehensive and comparable to guide decisions that help improve the health of communities and save lives.”
Read more about IHME. For interview requests, data inquiries or general questions, please contact IHME at ihmemedia@uw.edu.
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