Bill and Melinda Gates started writing an annual letter on behalf of their foundation (one of the largest private foundations in the world) in 2009. Released each January, it has provided reflections on the recent work of the foundation, and a discussion about what's coming up next.
And what's coming up next is usually innovative and ambitious. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funds and fosters progress in global health, education, access to technology, and more. In the past couple of years, the focus of the annual letter has broadened from just the work of the foundation, to the landscape of development, poverty eradication, and global citizenship.
You can check out the full letter here, or stay with me here for a two minute summary!
The 2015 letter
Every year is important in the effort to lift up people in poor countries, but 2015 is particularly important due to the major events, summits, and agreements that are on this year's calendar, which will have a long-term impact. That's why the Gates Foundation is making some "big bets", and calling on world leaders to do the same. The central big bet of the letter is as follows:
"The lives of people in poor countries will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any other time in history. And their lives will improve more than anyone else's."
This is the notion that the next 15 years will see major breakthroughs for most people in poor countries. They will be living longer and in better health. They will have unprecedented opportunities to get an education, eat nutritious food, and benefit from mobile banking. These breakthroughs will be driven by innovation in technology — ranging from new vaccines and hardier crops to much cheaper smartphones and tablets — and by innovations that help deliver those things to more people.
But it's one thing to make big bets, and another thing to lay out the plan for how to win. The letter is broken up into five sub-sections, which provide some more info on the "how".
1. Health. "Child deaths will go down, and more diseases will be wiped out"
This involves building on the fantastic progress in child survival and maternal mortality, and setting the bar even higher. Key points include eliminating the final pockets of polio, cracking the code on malaria, and forcing HIV to a tipping point.
2. Farming. "Africa will be able to feed itself"
Importing food into the low income countries of Africa requires money ($50 billion a year, no less) that can be better spent on building communities, if only local food production could fill the breach. By furthering agricultural innovation, improved training, efficient fertilizers, and physical infrastructure to distribute food, Africa can achieve food security by 2030.
3. Banking. "Mobile banking will help the poor transform their lives"
The traditional model of the financial services industry wasn't really created with poor people in developing countries in mind. Technology and innovation (particularly via mobile phones) offers exciting possibilities to extend services to these people, and enable them to store and transfer money instantly. Further potential exists with insurance, credit, and savings accounts.
4. Education. "Better software will revolutionize learning"
Education is a great leveler, IF people can access it. Online education will mean that you won’t have to be born near a top university or in a wealthy family in order to receive top knowledge. Further, technology can help narrow gender inequality in education by decreasing access and cost.
5. Conclusion. “A Call For global citizens”
All of the above things sound really exciting, but how do we actually make it happen? Through informed, passionate individuals working together to form effective movements for change. People who care about helping people in the world’s poorest places to improve their lives. These people are called global citizens. It doesn’t require every hour of your day, or every dollar you have. But it does require your voice.
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The letter (here's the link again!) was generous in mentioning globalcitizen.org as a place where passionate people can take action and grow the movement to end extreme poverty. We’re working hard for the world depicted in Gates’ letter, and the progress so far is thanks to global citizens like you. If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too late. Join the movement!
Disclosure: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a funding partner of Global Citizen.
Editor's note: This piece has been updated to include a disclosure that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a funding partner of Global Citizen. We regret the oversight.