Melinda Gates announced on Thursday that her and husband Bill’s
foundation will spend $776 million tackling hunger over the next six
years, doubling existing commitments.
Gates made the announcement in Brussels, where she urged European
leaders to make the nutrition of women and children a priority. The huge
pledge also unlocks $180 million in matched funding from Britain’s
Department for International Development.
“Malnutrition is the underlying cause of nearly half of all under-5
child deaths,” said Gates. “Yet for too long the world has underinvested
in nutrition. Today we see an opportunity to change that.”
Much of the money will be spent in India, Ethiopia, Nigeria,
Bangladesh and Burkina Faso, where there is serious malnutrition and a
real chance to make positive changes, the foundation said.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the world’s largest private
philanthropy organization, with a $40 billion endowment. It aims to
tackle disease and poverty in the developing world. Bill Gates earned
his billions as co-founder of Microsoft.
Every year millions of children die because they get substandard
nutrition during the critical 1,000-day period from their mother
becoming pregnant until their second birthday, the foundation said in a
statement.
“Many European donors are now prioritizing nutrition, which we
believe will be one of the fundamental solutions to help cut child
mortality in half by 2030,” said Melinda Gates.
The extra funding announced in Brussels will aim to help women and
girls before they get pregnant, improving the likelihood of a healthy
mother and child. It will also be spent on solutions “proven to improve
nutrition” including fortifying food and promoting breastfeeding.
Women and girls play a crucial role in reducing poverty and improving
health, Gates said. “From their leadership as farmers, entrepreneurs
and consumers to their role as mothers; investment in women and girls
will be key to improving nutrition globally.”
United Nations member states aim to agree in September a set of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets for making progress and
reducing inequality in areas such as poverty, health, education, women’s
rights and climate change by 2030.
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