ADDIS ABABA, 2nd June, 2025 (WAM) -- In an address today in Nelson Mandela Hall at the African Union, Gates Foundation Chair Bill Gates urged African leaders to seise the moment to accelerate progress in health and development through innovation and partnership, despite current headwinds. He announced that the majority of his US$200 billion spend over the next 20 years will go to Africa with a focus on partnering with governments that prioritise the health and wellbeing of their people.
“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.”
Addressing over 12,000 government officials, diplomats, health workers, development partners, and youth leaders in person and online, he underscored the critical role of African leadership and ingenuity in driving the continent’s health and economic future.
“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 said, according to African Media Agency (AMA).
Gates called for prioritising primary healthcare, emphasising that “investing in primary healthcare has the greatest impact on health and wellbeing. 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.
Reflecting on more than two decades of engagement on the continent, Gates said, “I’ve always been inspired by the hard work of Africans even in places with very limited resources.” He added, “The kind of field work to get solutions out, even in the most rural areas, has been incredible.”
Gates spoke about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, noting its relevance for the continent’s future. He praised Africa’s young innovators, saying he was “seeing young people in Africa embracing this, and thinking about how it applies to the problems that they want to solve.” Drawing a parallel to the continent’s mobile banking revolution, he added, “Africa largely skipped traditional banking and now you have a chance, as you build your next generation healthcare systems, to think about how AI is built into that.”