AFP/New York
The lives of the poor will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any time in history, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates
and his wife Melinda say.
In their annual letter released yesterday, the couple laid out their upbeat vision for a technology-driven wave of change that
will lift hundreds of millions out of poverty by 2030.
The major breakthroughs will be most noticeable in health, but also in agriculture, digital banking and online education, where
the Gates Foundation is planning to pour in resources.
“Our big bet is that in the next 15 years, the lives of the poor are going to improve more than at any time in the history of the
world,” Melinda Gates told AFP in an interview.
Child deaths are predicted to be cut by half, polio will be wiped out while the fight against malaria, a major killer in Africa,
will make strides with vaccines and a single-dose cure.
Africa can achieve food security by 2030 with access to innovation in agriculture to help farmers, the Gates said in their
letter, a vision statement that has been released since 2009.
“Seven out of 10 adults in Africa are farmers. When they get new seeds that are drought-resistant and as the climate changes,
they can still get more yield off their farms,” said Melinda. “It means they can feed their families and put the crops on the
market.”
Mobile banking has been popularised in Kenya, but the Gates Foundation is working to bring the financial tool to the poor in
Tanzania, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Uganda.
She sees potential for poverty reduction through online education and the development of software, especially for cellphones to
help teachers and students.
The Gates’ “big bet” that the world will be a better place in 2030 comes at a time of gloom in international circles with
humanitarian agencies struggling to help a record number of people displaced by conflicts.
The letter acknowledges that there are sceptics and that “we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that a handful of the worst-off
countries will continue to struggle”.
Melinda said her fact-finding missions in Africa and Asia – along with a clear faith in “the new tools of science” – were feeding
her optimism.
“Bill and I see progress because we see the global statistics,” she said. “We see child mortality going down. And then you go out
and travel.”
Gates: Our bet is that in the next 15 years, the lives of the poor are going to improve more than at any time in the history of the world.
