Project Syndicate: Promises to Keep in 2016
Bill Gates, founder and technology adviser of the Microsoft Corporation, and Melinda Gates, both co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“…[W]hile progress [on ending extreme poverty] is possible, it is not inevitable. Success will require political will, global cooperation, and human ingenuity … For our part, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will focus on the areas of greatest need and take risks that others can’t or won’t. … Sustained support for institutions like the Global Fund and Gavi, for the empowerment of women and girls, and for innovation is crucial to accelerating progress for the world’s poorest people. But much more can and should be done. The world must unite behind all efforts to eradicate poverty as a vital first step toward overcoming the many other challenges … that we face today. The daily headlines all too often reflect the gap between today’s world and a world without poverty. But what the headlines don’t reveal is all the ways life is already getting better for those in greatest need. If we keep our promises to them, it will be front-page news” (1/20).