In his 2023 annual letter, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO and board member Mark Suzman announced a 2023 budget of $8.3 billion and addressed concerns that the foundation wields disproportionate influence over the sector.

The 2023 budget represents an estimated increase of 15 percent over the 2022 forecasted payout and keeps the foundation on track to meet its commitment of a $9 billion annual payout by 2026, which, according to Suzman, will put the foundation in the “privileged position of being able to give away more money than any other philanthropy.”

With that position, Suzman noted, comes the critique that the foundation’s “focus on certain problems and solutions draws attention and resources away from other important issues,” as well as concerns that the foundation has a “disproportionate sway in setting national and global agendas, without any formal accountability to voters or international bodies.” In addressing those concerns, Suzman explained that the foundation is driven by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as well as a commitment to transparency and efforts to make all investments public: “It’s true that between our dollars, voice, and convening power, we have access and influence that many others do not. It’s also true that we are able to act in ways that others cannot. Because of this, we can call attention to and help find solutions for problems that otherwise might be neglected.”

The letter goes on to reflect on how the foundation has incorporated that ethos into its initiatives as well as recently announced investments, including a four-year, $1.4 billion commitment to provide farmers with tools and build more resilient food systems; a three-year, $912 million commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and a four-year, $1.1 billion commitment to improve the quality of math instruction and curriculum.

“Our role is to ensure that decision-makers—be they school board members or cassava growers or health ministers—have the best possible options to choose from and the best possible data to inform their decisions,” wrote Suzman. “But make no mistake: Where there’s a solution that can improve livelihoods and save lives, we’ll advocate persistently for it. We won’t stop using our influence, along with our monetary commitments, to find solutions—as long as hundreds of thousands of children die of malaria just because of where they live, as long as students of color and low-income students don’t have equitable educational opportunities, and as long as famine threatens entire populations. We see so much promise ahead, and we’re excited to play a part in realizing it.”

(Photo credit: Marc Smith via Flickr)