Story highlights Sweden, Belgium, and Finland each promise over $20 million

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation among private donors

(CNN) Dozens of governments and private philanthropists have pledged nearly $200 million for family planning services, after US President Donald Trump banned funding for groups linked to abortion.

Sweden, Belgium and Finland promised €20 million each (about $21 million) to the the global fundraising initiative, She Decides, launched by Dutch Development Minister Lilianne Ploumen.

The pledges came at a one-day She Decides conference in Brussels on Thursday, aimed at raising funds for aid groups whose funding is under threat. Some 50 governments, ranging from EU members states to African and Asian countries, attended the conference.

Ploumen started the initiative after Trump signed an executive order last month reinstating the "global gag rule." The rule, formally known as the Mexico City Policy, strips international non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortions of US government funding.

"I am deeply moved by the support voiced by so many countries, organizations and individuals for She Decides," Ploumen said . "It is a very powerful signal to the rest of the world that the fundamental right of women and girls to decide over their own lives must be respected."