Women's Health Innovation

Making lasting
impact for
women's health

FemNova is a women's health social enterprise dedicated to generating evidence, building digital infrastructure, and supporting programmes and systems change — to ensure equitable, rights-based care for women across India and beyond.

The Problem We Solve Work With Us
1B+
Women globally with menstrual disorders
1.2B
Women affected by anaemia globally
12yr
Average delay to endometriosis diagnosis
300M+
Women with menopausal symptoms globally
Who We Are

Accelerating innovation
for women's health

FemNova is a research and digital health enterprise focused on menstrual disorders and menopausal health — conditions that affect hundreds of millions of women yet remain chronically under-resourced and under-addressed in health systems globally.

We work at the intersection of evidence generation, digital innovation, and policy influence — with an unwavering commitment to equity, reaching marginalised and underserved women across the life course.

Evidence-based care
All protocols and interventions are grounded in the best available clinical evidence.
Self-care and autonomy
We empower women to understand their bodies and make informed health decisions.
Equity and inclusion
Reaching marginalised and underserved women across geographies and life stages.
Measurable impact
We are committed to outcomes that can be tracked, reported, and scaled.
Life-course perspective
From adolescence through menopause — addressing women's health at every stage.
The Problem

A large, neglected burden

Menstrual disorders and menopausal symptoms affect hundreds of millions of women worldwide — yet they are chronically under-diagnosed, normalised, and absent from most national health programmes. The result: years of preventable suffering.

Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
1B+
Women affected globally — prevalence ranges from 10–40%, with some populations reaching 65%. Yet most go undiagnosed.
Anaemia
1.2B
Women worldwide live with anaemia — often a direct and preventable consequence of untreated menstrual conditions.
Dysmenorrhea
71%
Of women experience painful periods in some populations — one of the leading causes of lost productivity and school absenteeism globally.
Menopausal Symptoms
300M+
Women worldwide experience significant menopausal symptoms — including genitourinary syndrome — that remain largely unaddressed in health systems.
Physical
Severe pain, heavy bleeding, fatigue, and poor sexual health — often endured in silence for years.
Mental Health
Depression, anxiety, and reduced self-esteem — disproportionately borne by women with untreated conditions.
Social
Missed school days, inability to participate in social activities, social isolation, and stigma.
Economic
Lost workdays and reduced productivity — with downstream consequences for families and communities.
Our Work

Research, evidence,
and policy change

FemNova works across three pillars — generating evidence, building digital infrastructure, and partnering with governments and health organisations — to shift the needle on women's health at scale.

01
Research
Generating the evidence base
We design and conduct digital and in-person studies on prevalence, acceptability of interventions, preferred treatment pathways, and impact — with a focus on communities that are typically excluded from research. Our research is anchored in India and designed to generate findings with relevance across low- and middle-income countries.
02
Digital Health
Building a digital care pathway
FemNova is developing a multilingual digital health platform to help women identify, understand, and act on menstrual and menopausal health concerns — connecting them to counselling and care. Our approach prioritises self-assessment and self-care, accessibility, cultural sensitivity, and evidence-based guidance. Beginning in India, we aim to extend our platform to other geographies over time.
03
Programme Support & Partnerships
Supporting governments and partners
FemNova aims to work alongside governments, donor agencies, and health programmes to translate research into actionable policy and practice. We seek to support evidence-informed decision-making on women's health intervention design — partnering with national and subnational governments, UN agencies, and international organisations to drive systems change.
04
Equity Focus
Reaching the underserved
Our work is anchored in equity. We specifically design our research and interventions to reach women in rural and semi-urban settings, those with limited digital access, and those who have historically been excluded from health systems — across the full life course, from adolescence to older age.
Our Team

Meet the FemNova team

FemNova was founded on the belief that lasting impact requires both clinical depth and the ability to communicate, advocate, and build for change. Kirti and Aditi bring complementary expertise — global health policy and programme delivery on one side, science communication and product strategy on the other — to every part of FemNova's work.

Kirti Iyengar
Kirti Iyengar
MD, PhD
Executive Director
Kirti is a global health and SRHR expert with over three decades of experience leading policy, research, and large-scale programmes to advance women's health, contraceptive access, and rights-based care in low- and middle-income countries. She has led national and global initiatives on family planning, safe abortion, contraceptive innovation, and health systems strengthening — working closely with governments, UN agencies, donors, and academic institutions. Her work has contributed to policy reforms, the introduction of new contraceptive technologies, and expansion of equitable SRHR services across India and other LMICs.
Himani Pandya
Himani Pandya
BDS, MPH, PhD
Director, Research & Programmes
Himani Pandya is a public health professional with over 12 years of experience in maternal and child health across India and South Africa. She has contributed to research, academia, and programme implementation with organisations including WHO Geneva, ARTH, and IIT Gandhinagar. Most recently, she served as a lecturer and researcher in Community Paediatrics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, working on health systems strengthening and national MCH policy implementation. Prior to this, she led implementation research on newborn health and severe acute malnutrition in rural India. Himani is passionate about advancing the health of women and children from underserved communities.
Aditi Iyengar
Aditi Iyengar
MSc, MSL
Director, Strategy & Innovation
Aditi is a science communication and reproductive health professional whose career spans research, advocacy, marketing strategy, and intellectual property — uniquely positioning her at the crossroads of science and commercial impact. She currently works at Pregna International Limited, leading market research and product strategy. Her entrepreneurial journey includes co-founding Artemis Care at Northwestern University — a venture developing a diagnostic device for the early detection of endometriosis — growing directly from her molecular biology research at the Karolinska Institutet, where she co-authored a peer-reviewed paper on the genetic progression of endometriosis. She has also held roles at SRHM London, UNFPA New York, and Cactus Communications.
Resources

Knowledge & insights

We will regularly share evidence, perspectives, and resources on menstrual health and menopause — for clinicians, policymakers, and women themselves. Our resources section is coming soon.

Evidence Brief
Anaemia among women and Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: what the data tell us
An overview of prevalence, diagnostic gaps, and the cost of inaction — drawing on national and international evidence.
Coming soon
Perspective
Why menopause is invisible in India's health system
Genitourinary syndrome of menopause affects up to 84% of women — yet remains largely unaddressed in primary care settings across South Asia.
Coming soon
Research Note
Understanding care-seeking behaviour: what women in rural India tell us
Insights from our ongoing qualitative research with women in semi-urban and rural communities — on how they understand and respond to menstrual symptoms.
Coming soon
Get Involved

Partner with
FemNova

We welcome conversations with funders, research partners, governments, and health organisations who share our commitment to transforming women's health outcomes.

Email
hello@femnova.in
Website
femnova.in
Based in
Mumbai, India