Bill Gates is the railroad baron of our time: Consolidate power through ruthless business decisions to make a fortune – and then give it away to a bunch of worthy charitable causes in your retirement.
The Microsoft founder has been largely out of the tech world for more than a decade. Instead the 61-year-old and his wife, Melinda, spend their time trying to solve the world’s big poverty problems.
And in a report card presented to United Nations leaders this week, the Gateses’ message is this: We’re making a real difference in saving lives – but gains could be erased if funding disappears. Some of the findings:
nThe number of children under the age of 5 worldwide who died during a year fell from 11.2 million in 1990 to 5 million in 2016. Gates says that a sign of overall wellbeing increasing. To put that in perspective, the difference is roughly the same number of people who died in the Holocaust. That means 6 million children every year now have a chance at life.
nThe death rate from AIDS has fallen 53 percent since a peak in 2005, and malaria deaths are down 60 percent between 2000 and 2015.
nThe percentage of the world’s population making less than the international poverty line – which is just $1.90 per day – has fallen from 35 percent in 1990 to 9 percent in 2016. Much of that comes as the result of economic gains in the world’s two most populous countries, China and India.
“It is a fact that disease and poverty are solvable,” the Gateses report says. “We invite everyone to focus on the solvable part of the equation. We have it within our power to decide how much of it actually gets solved. Let’s be ambitious. Let’s lead.”
Of course, the Gates are trying to sell something with this report – they want nations and large corporations to donate massive amounts of money to their foundation. But, still, the numbers reflect a positive note about progress in the world.
In developed countries like America, it’s difficult to make large gains in public health because we’ve already eliminated the obvious problems: We have safe drinking water, doctors to deliver babies and mandatory vaccines to prevent terrible diseases.
But in Third World countries, small things like sleeping in mosquito nets or digging a well for clean water can make huge differences. The Gates report shows that a sustained effort toward those goals can really bring about change.
— Charlie Smith
