In a visionary declaration that echoed through the halls of the African Union in Addis Ababa, philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates revealed his intention to dedicate most of his future $200 billion fortune towards transforming Africa’s healthcare, education, and technological innovation over the next two decades.
The 69-year-old humanitarian addressed an audience of over 12000 people, including diplomats, youth leaders and government officials, emphasising that Africa’s path to prosperity lies in unlocking its human potential. “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 remarked.
Having pledged last month to donate 99 percent of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates confirmed that a major portion of this will go directly toward addressing critical issues in Africa. The foundation’s focus over the next 20 years includes eliminating preventable deaths among mothers and children, combatting infectious diseases, and easing poverty.
He stressed the importance of investing in primary healthcare, especially maternal care and childhood nutrition. “Helping the mother be healthy and have great nutrition before and during pregnancy delivers the strongest results,” he said.
Gates also praised the continent’s embrace of innovation, citing Rwanda’s use of AI-enabled ultrasound tools to prevent maternal complications. Drawing parallels to the mobile banking revolution in Africa, he encouraged African youth to integrate artificial intelligence into the healthcare systems of the future. “Africa largely skipped traditional banking. Now you have a chance, as you build your next generation healthcare systems, to think about how AI is built into that,” he said.
Esteemed African voices such as Mozambique’s former First Lady Graça Machel, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J Mohammed expressed support for Gates’ commitment, calling it both timely and transformative.
During his visit, Gates also met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and toured the country’s Public Health Institute. He will travel next to Nigeria to meet with President Bola Tinubu and contribute to discussions on AI and healthcare reform.
This pledge arrives at a moment when US foreign aid to Africa has seen significant cuts. Yet, through innovation and enduring commitment, the Gates Foundation promises to stand by Africa’s side.
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