The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with other governments, philanthropies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and global and community leaders, have announced commitments totaling $1.27 billion.
This funding will be used to address the interconnected global crises that have set back efforts to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals). Nearly all Global Goals indicators are behind schedule halfway to their 2030 target, as reported in the foundation’s sixth annual Goalkeepers Report. Despite these difficulties, the report highlights possibilities to speed up development through investments in long-term solutions and new ways of thinking about persistent problems like poverty, inequality, and climate change.
According to Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, “this week has underscored the urgency of the challenges we face, and the promise of sustainable solutions that save and improve lives.” It will take a new level of cooperation and investment from all sectors, but we can get back on track toward the SDGs. Therefore, our organization is significantly increasing our efforts to respond to urgent needs and secure lasting change in key areas of health and development.
At the Goalkeepers event, influential people from all over the world came together to talk about what they’re doing right now and what they plan to do in the future to help achieve the Global Goals. More than 300 young changemakers, as well as other emerging and established leaders from around the world, attended the event, along with Bill and Melinda Gates and the Prime Ministers of Barbados and Spain, respectively (Mia Mottley and Pedro Sanchez).
Co-chair Melinda French Gates said, “The last time we gathered in person for Goalkeepers, we talked about how the most well-intentioned programs can perpetuate inequities if the communities they want to reach aren’t involved in the design.” Though much has changed since 2019, this remains true: achieving the Global Goals is impossible without the voices of those who have experienced them at the table. I am pleased to recognize the recipients of the Goalkeepers Award, as well as our many international collaborators who are helping to shape the world’s future through the cultivation of young leaders.
Governments and businesses alike came together at the Global Fund Replenishment Conference to make a historic commitment to improving people’s health and well-being.
To put the world back on track to end HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria by the year 2030, the Global Fund will use the money to save 20 million more lives, strengthen health systems to ward off future pandemics, and more. The $912 million pledged today represents the largest donation the foundation has ever made to the Global Fund.
Co-chair Bill Gates said, “We see the greatest progress when governments, the private sector, and local communities collaborate in global health programs.” We have taken a major step in the right direction toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals with this week’s commitment to fight preventable diseases and save millions of additional lives through the replenishment of the Global Fund.
Accelerating Achievement of Global Objectives
This week, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made the following pledges:
The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has received a $912 million pledge.
To date, this is the largest donation the foundation has made to the Global Fund. 50 million lives have been saved thanks to Global Fund partnership health programs since 2002. With this money, we can speed up our efforts to eradicate AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria by 2030 and strengthen our health care systems to better withstand future pandemics. Also, it will help considerably in mitigating the disproportionate toll these illnesses take on women and young girls.
Africa and South Asia are bearing the brunt of the world’s current food crisis, and this aid of $100 million will go a long way toward relieving the suffering and addressing its root causes.
This funding will go to:
Supporting national governments in reestablishing local food systems that are both resilient and sustainable is the goal of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP).
With the help of the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), fertilizers can be made more accessible to smallholder farmers in Africa.
Accelerating efforts by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), a CGIAR research center in Nigeria, to provide farmers with improved and new crop varieties like beans high in iron, sweet potatoes naturally rich in vitamin A, and naturally hardy cassava, millet, and sorghum.
Providing livestock farmers in Africa with sustainable feed and fodder so that their families can continue to rely on livestock as a source of income and nutritious food is a top priority for the African Agriculture and Livestock Foundation.
Building stronger regional food webs through providing women farmers with the means to thrive and provide for their communities is a priority for our collaborative efforts.
The foundation will also increase its donation to the Child Nutrition Fund from $10 million to $20 million. Our contribution will help the fund broaden its focus to include products for women’s and children’s preventative nutrition as well as ready-to-use therapeutic foods.
Digital Public Infrastructure Expansion Funding at $200 Million
Increased infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries can help them weather disasters like famine, epidemics, and natural disasters, as well as aid in economic recovery and adaptation to climate change. Interoperable payment systems, digital identification, data-sharing platforms, and public record registries are all part of this framework.
A grant of $50 million to the Partners in Health Scholarship Fund will allow students from around the world to study at Rwanda’s University for Global Health Equity (UGHE).
It is expected that this pledge will serve as a catalyst for a $200 million fundraising effort. The majority of the students receiving scholarships are women (75 percent). Their attendance at UGHE will speed up the process of training more doctors and nurses in Rwanda and elsewhere.
