Africa-Press – Kenya. The Gates Foundation has reiterated its commitment to invest around 200 billion US dollars over the next two decades, focusing on reducing poverty, infant mortality and preventable diseases in Africa.
The announcement was made by Keith Klugman, director of Pneumonia and Pandemic Preparedness at the Gates Foundation, in an interview with AIM on the sidelines of the Global Forum on Innovation and Action for Immunisation and Child Survival 2025.
The event, which runs until Thursday in Maputo, brings together global health leaders, policymakers, researchers and international partners to discuss strategies to accelerate childhood immunisation and reduce mortality.
“This is a commitment that Bill Gates has made and will fulfil. It is a fortune of 200 billion dollars that the foundation will invest to reduce inequalities and infant mortality”, said Klugman.
According to the source, most of this amount will be directed towards primary health care and child welfare in priority African countries, in a decision that transforms most of Bill Gates’ personal fortune into concrete action.
According to Klugman, the foundation plans to spend between nine and ten billion dollars a year, with the aim of eliminating preventable deaths during childhood and eradicating diseases such as polio, malaria and tuberculosis by 2045.
The foundation’s director for pneumonia and pandemic preparedness pointed out that around 4.8 million children die before the age of five from preventable causes, and the foundation’s ambitious goals include halving deaths through investments in vaccines, strengthening health systems and expanding access to preventive interventions.
He revealed that the foundation has allocated more than 128 million dollars to vaccines against Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), considered causes of neonatal mortality in Africa. “Another clinical trial for a GBS vaccine is expected to begin soon, with the goal of eliminating serious neonatal infections within the next five to 20 years,” said the Gates Foundation source.
He reiterated that most of the 200 billion dollars available will be directed to Africa, as part of an effort to partner with governments that prioritise public health and the well-being of citizens in low-income countries, such as Mozambique.
The foundation renewed its commitment to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, with a contribution of 1.6 billion dollars by 2030, reinforcing its work in child health despite cuts in international aid.
The expectation is that national governments will gradually take on the responsibility of financing their own immunisation programmes, with the foundation’s support until this goal becomes sustainable.
For Magdalena Roberts, deputy director of the Polio and Vaccines area at the Gates Foundation, Mozambique is among the priority countries for the allocation of the institution’s resources, given its status as a low-income country.
She pointed out that the foundation recognises the structural challenges Mozambique faces in the health sector and is therefore committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to strengthening the national vaccination system, particularly in child immunisation and polio eradication.
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