Washington [US], June 4: US billionaire Bill Gates on Tuesday announced that the majority of his philanthropic Gates Foundation's $200 billion (€175 billion) endowment will be spent in Africa over the next two decades.
Gates, who on May 8 said he would wind down the foundation by 2045, made the pledge while addressing African leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
"I recently made a commitment that my wealth will be given away over the next 20 years. The majority of that funding will be spent on helping you address challenges here in Africa," Gates said as he urged leaders to boost health and development through partnership and innovation.
"By unleashing human potential through health and education, every country in Africa should be on a path to prosperity. and that path is an exciting thing to be part of," Gates told government officials, diplomats and health workers.
Gates makes pitch as US government slashes aid
"Investing in primary healthcare has the greatest impact on health and wellbeing," he said. "With primary healthcare, what we've learned is that helping the mother be healthy and have great nutrition before she gets pregnant, while she is pregnant, delivers the strongest results. Ensuring the child receives good nutrition in their first four years as well makes all the difference."
US businessman-philanthropist Gates singled out Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe as examples of countries that to his mind show strong leadership fostering innovation. He did not comment on allegations of authoritarianism and rights abuses against the governments of, for example, Ethiopia and Rwanda.
"Our foundation has an increasing commitment to Africa," Gates said. "Our first African office was here in Ethiopia about 13 years ago. Now we have offices in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal. That's a great way for us to strengthen partnerships."
Gates' pitch comes amid halts to US foreign aid on the advice of US President Donald Trump's donor and budget oversight advisor, Elon Musk - the world's richest man - who bragged of "feeding USAID to the wood chipper."
A recent study in the medical journal The Lancet projected that cuts to American spending on PEPFAR - the program to deliver HIV and AIDS relief abroad - could cost the lives of 500,000 children by 2030. The journal Nature suggested a sustained halt to US aid funding could result in some 25 million additional deaths over 15 years.
The Gates Foundation has invested heavily in projects aimed at reducing childhood and maternal deaths; advancing progress on vaccines for infectious disease, such as malaria or HIV; as well as lifting poor populations out of poverty.
The foundation claims that it has contributed to more than 100 innovations that have saved more than 80 million lives, citing partnerships with GAVI and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Gates says 'rich should do more in philanthropy'
Gates, who made his fortune with the computer software company Microsoft and started the Gates Foundation with his ex-wife, Melinda, has urged other wealthy individuals to spend their money on humanity not just personal possessions.
When recently asked by The New York Times about why he is donating his fortune he first said, "It makes a big difference to take the money and spend it now versus later," pointing to its impact on developments in agriculture and AI.
"What am I going to do?" he added, "Just go buy a bunch of boats or something? Go gamble? This money should go back to society in the way that it has the best chance of causing something positive to happen."
"And I do think good examples influence other people. I think the rich people today should do more philanthropy, and we have some examples of that. And I think the rich people 20 years from now should do more in philanthropy."
While in Africa, Gates will also meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to talk about AI and health care reform in their respective countries.
Source: Times of Oman
