Bill Gates to direct majority of $200bn pledge towards Africa's future
Gates Foundation chair Bill Gates has announced that the majority of his $200bn (R3.57-trillion) 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
In an address to the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, Gates urged African leaders to seize the moment to accelerate progress in health and development through innovation and partnership, despite current headwinds.
'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 more 12,000 government officials, diplomats, health workers, development partners and youth leaders in person and online, Gates 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.'
After his address, Gates joined Dr Paulin Basinga, the foundation's Africa director, in a fireside chat to discuss Africa's development agenda and the investments and partnerships needed to drive future progress.
Calls for collaboration and shared responsibility were delivered by prominent African leaders, including Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organisation, and Amina J Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the UN.
Renowned advocate for women and children Graça Machel described the current situation as 'a moment of crisis' and emphasised the importance of enduring partnerships in Africa's development journey.
'Mr Gates' long-standing partnership with Africa reflects a deep understanding of these challenges and a respect for African leadership, ideas and innovation. We are counting on Mr Gates' steadfast commitment to continue walking this path of transformation alongside us,' Machel said.
Okonjo-Iweala emphasised that Africa's health progress was a result of strong government leadership, resilient communities and partnerships that delivered results.
Gates called for prioritising primary health care, saying investing in primary health care had the greatest impact on health and wellbeing.
'With primary health care, what we've learnt 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.'
Gates' speech highlighted how countries like Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zambia were showing what was possible when bold leadership harnessed innovation.
These ranged from expanding front-line health services and using data to cut child mortality, to deploying advanced tools against malaria and HIV and safeguarding primary health care despite fiscal strain.
In Ethiopia and Nigeria this week, Gates will see first-hand the state of health and development priorities in the wake of foreign aid cuts, and he will affirm his and the foundation's commitment to supporting Africa's progress in health and development over the next 20 years.
While in Ethiopia, Gates met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and heard how Ethiopia was sustaining the momentum on critical reforms, expanding essential services and remaining resilient amid shifting global aid dynamics.
From Addis Ababa, Gates will travel to Nigeria, where he will meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and engage with federal and state leaders to discuss Nigeria's primary healthcare reforms.
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Daily Maverick
3 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
The philanthropy of Bill Gates must be approached with caution
Bill Gates is soothing his $200-billion headache by giving his fortune away – most of it to Africa – over the next two decades. That means increasing Gates Foundation disbursements to $9-$10-billion annually, compared with $8-billion in 2024. This nearly trebles the foundation's average charitable outlay of about $3.4-billion each year since the Gates family got into philanthropy in 1994. The increase is astounding in absolute dollar terms, but when adjusted for past and future inflation, the purchasing power of the expanded Gates largesse (supplemented by Warren Buffett's substantial billions) just about keeps pace with the real value of their original benefactions. This is still the biggest philanthropic gift in modern history. But why is Mr Gates giving away 99% of his estimated $108-billion wealth? A question of motive Perhaps the philanthropist – once the world's richest man, but now in 13th position – suffers from the same anxiety as lesser persons: securing his legacy and being remembered kindly? Or possibly, the 70-year-old is concerned for his soul as he enters the 'last chapter' of his undoubtedly brilliant career? Gates had a Catholic upbringing, but as befits a fiercely rational scientist, he is agnostic. Nevertheless, his reflection that 'to whom much is given, much is expected' suggests a spiritual base. He is also fond of quoting Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth: 'The man who dies rich dies disgraced.' The question of motivation is important in our age of suspicion where obvious goodness is not accepted at face value. Gates is the frequent target of outlandish conspiracy theories that say more about his detractors than about him. What Bill Gates does matters to us A more practical question concerns the implications flowing from his intent. Gates is entitled to do what he wants with his private wealth. But this libertarian licence is somewhat conditioned by the thought that the Microsoft co-founder amassed his fortune thanks to people like you and me buying his products and services – 345 million of us contributed $211-billion in revenue in 2023 alone, giving us a legitimate stake in Gates' affairs. His philanthropic endeavours are also our business because of his outsized influence on public policy, particularly when this sways the choices nations make to affect the life chances of 44% of the world population. They are the world's poor (those living on less than $3.65 per day) living in 128 low- and middle-income nations. However, to put this in perspective, the Gates Foundation's projected outlay of $9-billion a year is small change compared with the $294-billion needed annually to close the financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) among the 48 developing economies covering three-quarters of the global population. Therefore, Gates' influence is not from money alone, but from how his powerful pulpit proselytises his heartfelt causes. This results in unease because of the distortionary consequences for country-level health and development. A narrow approach The causes dear to Mr Gates are: stopping preventable deaths among mothers and children; eliminating headline infectious diseases; and reducing poverty through education and agriculture. These are worthy aims with compelling evidence, garnered not least through the Foundation's own massive research and innovation investment, that they are achievable by scaling up solutions derived from fast-moving scientific and technological advances, including artificial intelligence. Mr Gates' humanitarian credentials are not in doubt. But his approach to tackling a problem 'because it is there' necessitates an all-consuming, laser-like focus on narrowly selected challenges, and lavishing vast sums of money via highly technocratic prescriptions. The venture capital method is problematic for several reasons. It means de-prioritising other equally pressing needs and making highly contentious value judgements on the issues that are more or less worthy. We normally do that through debating the choices we want our governments to make, and holding them accountable, however imperfectly. Private philanthropies are not held responsible in the same way, especially when their well-meaning interventions can shift at will or when they shut shop, as the Gates Foundation will do in 2045. Questioning cost benefits Could its legacy become an unsustainable burden for successor generations? Take, for example, the laudable Gates goal to eradicate wild polio that, after decades of successful global efforts, lurks only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. These fragile states extract high marginal costs for allowing the last wild virus to be chased down. Whether that is achievable is conditioned by prevailing social and political circumstances. So, how much is worth spending on eradication when existing strategies to protect the rest of the world through vaccination, surveillance and outbreak response could be more cost-effective? The counter-argument is that permanent polio eradication would save the world $40-50-billion. But is that sufficiently significant in a multi-trillion-dollar world? Furthermore, would it be better for long-suffering Afghans and Pakistanis to switch their earmarked polio funds into broader health and social services that bring wider progress that eventually catalyses polio eradication at a lesser eventual cost? However, this could take longer than 2045. Understandably, Mr Gates is impatient while we wish him a long life. Vertical focus on selected conditions Comparable concerns are raised by verticalised strategies that capture large Gates resources for diseases such as malaria, measles and tuberculosis. Inevitably, that skews multilateral health co-operation through boosting global funds such as for Aids, TB, malaria, and for vaccines. They also distort our global health institutions such as the World Health Organization, whose $6.8-billion budget for 2024-25 (before recent cuts) included a 10% ring-fenced allocation just for polio. The Gates focus on maternal and child mortality raises further questions because the underlying causes are difficult to shift. Take South Sudan, with the world's most appalling maternal mortality rate of 1,223 per 100,000 births. Against the country's backdrop of conflict, displacement, poverty, misgovernance, disaster, climate change, absent infrastructure and absent trained personnel, the contribution of technical healthcare innovation is useful, but relatively marginal. How much is therefore worth spending on maternal and child health alone while the all-ages crude death rate hovers above 1,190 per 100,000 population? If Mr Gates asks the people of South Sudan how to spend his money, what difficult choices would they make? Bill Gates is highly methodical as befits a smart techbro. His lodestar is metrics, which means getting only what he measures, not more, such as reducing Aids deaths by two-thirds between 2000-2023, or now aiming to halve under-fives' mortality from five million in 2019. A list of other conditions for statistically demonstrable demolition awaits. Technocratic versus holistic paradigms Reducing specific disease burdens helps, but does not equate to health. This is constitutionally defined by WHO as 'physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease'. The metrics for that are not precise and, therefore, less amenable to narrow technical fixes. Take, for example, addictive behaviours and cognitive disorders such as dementia, or making reproductive health choices. Obesity was, until recently, in the same category of complex aetiology. But now we have the GLP-1 agonists revolutionising weight loss, and there are promising new therapies for dementia. Gates may yet be proved right with the invention of pills and jabs for all types of ailments. If enough resources are thrown at selected problems, some are bound to stick, but at huge opportunity costs for other important challenges. Nevertheless, at least Bill Gates is fixated on saving present humanity here, while the world's richest man, Elon Musk, is investing heavily to send sizeable numbers of refugees from a doomed Earth to Mars by the 2040s, so as to keep the human genome alive. Philanthropic influences on democratic policymaking The Gates and Musk outlook brings into focus the technocratic versus holistic approach to life. The impact of the mega-rich on American policy in the Donald Trump era is a possible harbinger of similar influences on the world stage that may lead to comparable tectonic shifts for global health and development structures, approaches, and financing. The consequences should concern us. But there is a counter-reaction. Shifting geopolitics means that top-down solutions are no longer acceptable. That applies even for poor countries suffering from heavy budgetary cuts at the WHO and bilateral donors. They may welcome more Gates support, but want the dignity of charting their own paths without constant hectoring on what is good for them. While that worked with the partially successful Millennium Development Goals, it is resented in the era of assertive nationalism, shrinking aid and failing Sustainable Development Goals. A debatable legacy Against this world mood, the Gates Foundation will face considerable headwinds despite, and perhaps because of, its supersized purse. Does it have strategies for that, or the flexibility to alter course, considering the straitjacket of its religion-like mission? Perhaps the Gates legacy would be more likely to endure if his foundation listened more, preached less, and was open-minded to extend beyond its narrow silos. Otherwise, the risk is of countries left high and dry in two decades, as is happening now with donors walking away from previous commitments. There are greater implications still of how supersized private charities end up directing our societies. Do citizens want that? Large-scale philanthropy – however humanitarian-minded – is yet another ideology in our divided world. It is best imbibed in small doses under strict advice. DM
Eyewitness News
6 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Initiation season in South Africa: Why state regulation clashes with customary laws
It's nearly winter in South Africa, which means the opening of winter initiation schools is approaching. These rituals mark a transition to adulthood and are deeply ingrained culturally. But they're often the subject of headlines because of deaths and safety issues. Now government is looking to tighten its enforcement of the Customary Initiation Act of 2021. We asked Anthony Diala, a scholar of African customary law, to break down the issues. WHAT IS TRADITIONAL INITIATION IN SOUTH AFRICA? Traditional initiation is a cultural rite of passage. Millions of South Africans observe varying forms of initiation rites to mark significant events such as birth, puberty, adulthood, marriage and death. Initiation reflects important ancestral ties, values and cultural identity. These rites vary from community to community. Male initiation among the Xhosa people of the Eastern Cape province, for example, includes circumcision and seclusion in specially constructed lodges away from communities. Initiates learn survival skills, cultural traditions and social responsibilities from tribal elders. Some training involves rituals and dietary restrictions. Female initiation prepares girls for social roles as wives, mothers and aunts. Initiation ceremonies by the Bantwane of Mpumalanga province, for example, teach appropriate social and sexual behaviour for very young girls through a six-week rite of passage. They include real and symbolic circumcision. (Symbolic circumcision means a slight cut or 'nick from a trained health worker' rather than full circumcision.) In traditional communities, initiation to adulthood reflects intimate connections between farming practices, seasonal changes and ancestral rites. It reinforces the relationship between human development and agricultural productivity. So, it typically coincides with critical farming seasons and crop cultivation cycles. WHY ARE INITIATION PRACTICES REGULATED? 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It requires written consent from parents or legal guardians for minors and forbids initiation for children under 16. It even restricts initiation seasons to school holidays. HOW DOES REGULATION REFLECT A CLASH BETWEEN CUSTOMARY AND COMMON LAW? Indigenous laws cherish communal welfare. Common laws prioritise individual wellbeing. While indigenous laws emerged in agrarian (farming) settings, the laws imposed by European colonisers developed in industrial societies. The clash of cultures has been intense in the courts. European colonial judges refused to enforce customs they considered contrary to public policy, natural justice, equity or good conscience. This enabled them to 'civilise' African behaviour. Today, the 'civilising' role is performed by Africans themselves using the constitution's bill of rights. The Customary Initiation Act wants to transform initiation practices to reflect the values in the bill of rights. Sections 15, 30-31, 39(3) and 211 of the Constitution recognise customary law and mandate courts to apply it. But the bill itself emerged from foreign ideas. Specifically, it came from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Western powers adopted this with zero input from indigenous Africans. So, state regulation of initiation practices continues to make European laws culturally superior to indigenous African laws. WHAT'S THE WAY FORWARD? Obviously, the state is obliged to protect everyone's human rights, including those of initiates. But traditional communities also have a constitutional right to practise their culture without undue state influence. Therefore, a balance needs to be struck between protecting teenagers and preserving culture. In striking this balance, everyone must keep in mind the agrarian origins of initiation rites and the colonial origins of the modern South African state. In the precolonial era, families and tribal leaders had the duty of protecting initiates. There is no reason why this should not continue. State regulation should be limited to establishing minimum health standards and providing training for traditional practitioners. In my view, it should leave age participation guidelines and informed consent to traditional authorities. This would be a sign that the state respects indigenous law as a legitimate source of law in South Africa. To assuage health concerns, some initiation rites can be performed symbolically. Traditional practitioners can be trained to incorporate modern health knowledge without compromising cultural authenticity. This will improve health standards. Hopefully, it will also reduce negative perceptions of initiation practices. This article first appeared on The Conversation. Read the original article here.
IOL News
7 hours ago
- IOL News
How Africa can achieve cleaner transportation by tackling fuel quality challenges
Sasol's Secunda plant. South Africa, which once had six operational refineries but now relies on three, with fuel importation required to meet its local demand. Image: Supplied Africa has never been better positioned to take its rightful place in the top forums of the world. Across the continent, from North to South and East to West, African economies are showing higher projected future growth rates than in the past. Major cities across Africa have already shown steady growth: both in economy and in size. As these cities grow, the demand for transport grows with it. Today these cities are teeming with all modes of transportation, from buses and trucks down to small passenger cars and motorcycles. Pollution challenges The result of decades of used-vehicle imports combined with sub-standard fuels is that these major African cities face significant air pollution challenges. The congestion in African cities and fast-growing urban settlements is already subjecting the average commuter to extreme levels of air pollution, and with that, the associated negative effects on human health. What is required, now more than ever before, is a continent-wide switch to cleaner transportation. For Africa to succeed in this endeavour, all African countries will need to work as one. Across the globe, major economies in North America, Europe and Asia have made step-changes in regulating transportation emissions. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The author, Martina Biene, is chairperson and managing director of Volkswagen Group Africa and President of the Association of African Automotive Manufacturers. Image: Supplied Europe leading emissions charge Over the past three decades, Europe has gradually tightened tailpipe emissions and introduced mandatory vehicle technology that monitors emissions equipment, all in order to provide a cleaner environment for its citizens. European emissions regulations history covers six stages from the first Euro 1 which was instituted in 1992, followed by Euro 2 in 1996. Euro 3 in 2000 was replaced by Euro 4 in 2005 and then replaced with Euro 5 in 2009 with today's Euro 6 having been implemented in 2017. Europe now awaits Euro 7 in 2030. With these step changes through the stages the harmful emissions limits were reduced, emissions diagnostic equipment was made mandatory, and the required lifespan of the equipment was increased. In some stages new limits were introduced, such as particle mass and particle number. The result: cleaner air for a cleaner environment. Lack of enforcement While Africa is guided by these European regulations, it lags in its implementation and enforcement. One may ask, but why have African states not implemented existing transport emissions regulations if they already exist? The answer lies in the continent's fuel quality. With each stage of emissions regulations, from stage 1 to stage 6, there has also been a step change in the mandatory fuel quality in order to enable the vehicle to meet the lower emissions targets. Cleaner fuels combined with updated vehicle technology has brought about these reduced transport emissions. However, these step changes have been lagging in most African states. The result is that new and used imported vehicles from Europe, Japan and North America have been negatively impacted upon by incorrect fuel quality, rendering their emissions equipment ineffective. In some cases this has led to post-sale modification of emissions systems, such as the removal of the catalytic converters or the deactivation of engine sensor hardware. Today's Euro 6 emissions technology cannot operate on the available fuel quality in much of Africa. Cleaner fuels will not harm older vehicle technology. In fact, cleaner fuels will reduce particulate emissions, reduce engine wear and burn cleaner compared to today's poor quality fuels, says the author. Image: David Ritchie African dumping ground Through the Public Eye report of 2016, Africa became known as the dumping ground for 'dirty diesel'. A closer look into the in-market fuel survey data showed that in 2022, Africa had 11 petrol grades across the continent, with sulphur levels ranging from 10 to 10,000 parts per million (ppm), and 12 diesel grades, from 10 to 3,500ppm. By way of comparison, in order to comply with Euro 2 regulations, sulphur levels must not exceed 500ppm, and for Euro 5 it is limited to 10ppm. Sulphur reduces the efficiency of catalytic converters and also adversely affects heated oxygen gas sensors. As sulphur occurs naturally in crude oil, its removal during the refining process is necessary. Fuel survey data has also revealed the use of metallic additives to boost octane levels in petrol. Additives that contain lead, manganese or iron are strictly limited or banned in Europe as the resultant metallic oxides block or poison the catalytic converters, deposit themselves onto key engine and emissions equipment (such as spark plugs, oxygen sensors and particle filters) and in the case for lead, its adverse health effects are well-documented. Automotive fuels are more than just their sulphur levels and metallic content. They are designed to be 'fit-for-purpose' and each one of its 30-40 properties need to be strictly controlled in order to bring about the environmental benefits that modern vehicle emissions can provide. From octane levels in petrol to cetane levels in diesel, from density to the distillation curve, each one of the specification limits provide for a mandatory fuel quality for harmonious engine use and trouble-free emissions equipment which in turn realises a reduced impact of vehicle emissions on the environment. Regional and historical challenges The quest for clean fuels is beset by regional differences and historical legacies, much like the story of Africa itself. Change can only happen with the right legislative environment, reinforced by proper regulatory enforcement, which may range from the testing of imported fuel products when they land in the country to re-testing again when they are sold to customers at service stations. Import specifications need to be specific and aligned with technology requirements. For refineries these legislative standards must also apply. Cleaner fuels will not harm older vehicle technology. In fact, cleaner fuels will reduce particulate emissions, reduce engine wear and burn cleaner compared to today's poor quality fuels. Reduced breakdowns will lead to reduced maintenance costs and will have a positive impact on economic growth. Getting there is neither simple nor straightforward, but these benefits have not gone unnoticed in some parts of Africa. Committed East Africa, on the whole, has made a commitment to creating both the legislative and the regulatory environment needed to introduce clean fuels. These countries are no longer dependent upon local refineries which leads to cleaner fuels importation directly from the producers themselves, whether they be in the Gulf or in Asia, who have agreed to supply a higher quality and more refined fuel to the region. The East African Community, led by Kenya looks to leapfrog to Euro 4 and perhaps beyond to Euro 6 emissions standards, with agreements already signed by Kenya and Uganda to make 50ppm sulphur fuels mandatory, with a further reduction to 10ppm under discussion. South Africa has deferred 'Clean Fuels 2' (the next generation of fuel quality) by at least 10 years and aims for Euro 5 emissions standards in 2027. Until then it remains at Euro 2. Image: Ayanda Ndamane Local fuel import South Africa, which once had six operational refineries but now relies on three, with fuel importation required to meet its local demand, is still on its own long walk to clean fuel freedom. South Africa has deferred 'Clean Fuels 2' (the next generation of fuel quality) by at least 10 years and aims for Euro 5 emissions standards in 2027. Until then it remains at Euro 2. West Africa is a different situation altogether. There are markets that are significant exporters of crude oil to the rest of the world. There are also working refineries in the region. The refineries, while operational, are old. It will take considerable resources in terms of time and budget to convert them to refine clean fuels that will safeguard the environment. Will to change As in most African issues, it comes down to affordability and short-term economics. There is the will to change, especially in Ivory Coast and Ghana, but in some countries like Senegal, it is left to private public partnerships to resolve the issue. Africa also has the option to explore ethanol-based additives. Ethanol additives help the environment as they contain oxygen, which increases octane and reduces harmful emissions. Ethanol manufacture will create jobs, but not all regions have agricultural sectors that could produce the required levels for automotive blending. However, if a country is a major agricultural producer there is a great opportunity to convert the green waste into ethanol to boost octane, as is happening in Zimbabwe and is now being planned for Uganda. Understanding The good news is that there is a universal realisation in African countries of the compelling need to move together to clean fuels and there is a comprehensive understanding of how the opportunities that will be unlocked outweigh the considerable challenges that still exist. What the African continent needs is a timeline setting milestones to ensure that the journey to this destination is coherent, just and equitable, ensuring that no country gets left behind. The clock is ticking as the world moves relentlessly towards clean mobility, transitioning beyond fossil fuels to new energy technologies such as hydrogen and battery-electric vehicles. If the continent does not change, Africa faces the very real prospect of being saddled with a catastrophically compromised transport system. Volkswagen is committed to doing whatever we can to ensure that this does not happen, indeed we are helping lead Africa's change to ensure it achieves its potential and not squander it. * Martina Biene is chairperson and managing director of Volkswagen Group Africa and President of the Association of African Automotive Manufacturers. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
