Post by : Rameen Ariff

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has sounded the alarm over a potential rise in child mortality worldwide, blaming recent international aid cuts for the looming crisis. In a video interview from Seattle with Agence France-Presse, Gates described it as “tragic” that child deaths are set to increase for the first time this century, after decades of steady decline.

Gates singled out the United States as the country that has cut aid most deeply. He directly criticised Elon Musk’s so-called US Department of Government Efficiency, commonly referred to as DOGE, saying it had been “responsible for a lot of deaths” due to abrupt and chaotic reductions in grants to global health programmes. Britain, France, and Germany have also “disproportionately” reduced aid, Gates noted, further threatening progress in developing nations.

According to the Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers report, the number of children dying before their fifth birthday is projected to rise to 4.8 million this year, an increase of 200,000 compared to 2024. The report highlights a dramatic 27 percent fall in aid to developing countries, jeopardising efforts to fight diseases such as malaria, HIV, and polio. If these global aid cuts of roughly 30 percent remain permanent, modelling by the Gates-funded Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts that 16 million more children could die by 2045. Gates emphasized the human toll, saying, “That’s 16 million mothers who are experiencing something that no one wants to or should have to deal with.”

Gates described the DOGE-led aid reductions as “chaotic,” particularly the sudden withdrawal of US grants from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been largely dismantled since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Gates said he was in discussions with President Trump to encourage at least a modest restoration of aid, though he admitted it was uncertain whether these efforts would succeed.

The philanthropist also voiced disappointment over the US government not renewing funding for Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, in June. Gates added that US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr had sent a video message to a Gavi fund-raising event, promoting “extremely debunked and misguided views” against childhood vaccines. Gates clarified that while the Gates Foundation collaborates with every administration and occasionally finds common ground with Secretary Kennedy, their positions on the global role of vaccines are fundamentally opposed.

Acknowledging tight budgets in wealthy countries, Gates regretted that aid reductions were being disproportionately implemented in European nations. He confirmed having discussed the issue with leaders in France, including the prime minister and president, urging them to recognize the critical importance of international aid despite challenging budgetary constraints.

Despite these setbacks, Gates expressed cautious optimism about new tools that could help reduce child mortality rates in the coming five years. He highlighted the development of vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pneumonia, as well as the recent rollout in South Africa of lenacapavir, a groundbreaking twice-a-year HIV-prevention injection.

Since launching the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, Gates has become a major global health donor. Following his divorce from Melinda French Gates last year, he announced plans in May to donate his entire $200 billion fortune over the next two decades, completing the distribution by 2045.

Experts, including Jessica Sklair from Queen Mary University of London, note that Gates already wields immense influence over global health policies. With the new wave of aid cuts, his influence is expected to grow, although private philanthropy may not be enough to fill the funding gaps. Research from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, reported exclusively last month, estimates that more than 22 million people could die from preventable causes by 2030 due to aid reductions in the US and Europe.

The warning from Gates underscores the fragility of global health progress and highlights the urgent need for renewed international support to prevent millions of child deaths worldwide.

#Global News