Your 'action' will kill 8 million kids: Microsoft founder Bill Gates warns US government
Microsoft founder
and former CEO
Bill Gates
has once again raised concerns over the impact of US government cutting funding for global health. Sharing a post on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), he warned that this could result in an additional 8 million child deaths by 2024. Gates cited a Lancet study on the cumulative impact of reductions in American aid. 'It found that, by 2040, 8 million more children will die before their fifth birthday. To give some context for 8 million: That's how many children live in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio combined,' Gates said.
In the post, he writes 'When the United States and other governments suddenly cut their aid budgets, I know for a fact that more children will die.'
He said he has worked in the global health space for over 25 years and has seen how important aid is in saving lives. 'Over the past 25 years—the same span of time I spent leading Microsoft—I have immersed myself in global health: building knowledge, deepening expertise, and working to save lives from deadly diseases and preventable causes. During that time, I have built teams of world-class scientists and public health experts at the
Gates Foundation
, studied health systems across continents, and worked in close partnership with national and local leaders to strengthen the delivery of lifesaving care,' he writes.
'Global health aid saves lives. And when that aid is withdrawn—abruptly and without a plan—lives are lost,' Gates warned. 'At this point, I know as much about improving health in poor countries as I do about software,' he further stated.
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'It's not too late to change course': Bill Gates
Bill Gates said that U.S. cuts to global health aid are already causing problems. He pointed out that important programs like tuberculosis testing and malaria prevention are slowing down, and life-saving medicines are getting delayed.
Gates recently visited Nigeria and Ethiopia and said he saw for himself how healthcare services there are being affected by the funding cuts.
Still, Gates said there is time to fix the situation. 'It's not too late to change course,' he wrote on X. He urged the U.S. Congress to restore funding for major programs such as PEPFAR (the U.S. plan for AIDS relief) and the Global Fund.
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