WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation approved its largest annual budget ever, committing $8.6 billion for achieving a range of health goals such as the eradication of polio, delivery of supplies to curb child and maternal mortality, and development of new tuberculosis drugs.
Bill Gates, the former CEO of Microsoft (MSFT) said, 'We can't talk about the future of humanity without talking about the future of health.' He founded the organization along with his former wife Melinda Gates in 2000.
Earlier, the foundation had committed $8.3 billion in 2023 and $7 billion in 2022 for healthcare. It had also pledged to increase healthcare funding to $9 billion annually by 2026.
Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said, 'The new high-water mark for our budget will further our mission to help create a world where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life'.
After a brief stutter during the Covid-19, the foundation will resume its focus on tackling wider infectious disease threats and higher mortality rates in children.
Gates had also requested the countries around the world to donate 0.7 percent of their domestic output for healthcare purposes.
The Foundation intends to spend a portion of its funding for the advancement of global health innovations which will improve the lives of the most vulnerable people of the world, including new born babies and pregnant women from low-income communities.
Gates added that, 'Every day, new born babies and young children die simply because of where they were born. Mothers die giving birth, leaving families devastated. That keeps me up at night.'
Further, the Foundation commented, 'The Gates Foundation measures impact in terms of lives saved and opportunities provided to the poorest.'
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