The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced its 2024 budget totaling $8.6 billion, a 4 percent increase year-over-year.

The foundation, which has committed to increasing its budget to $9 billion by 2026, made the announcement to coincide with the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, and indicated that the increased funding will be directed to addressing gaps in global health initiatives. According to the foundation, international contributions to public health in the lowest-income countries have been stalling in recent years. For example, while global aid spending has leveled off, sub-Saharan African countries saw a nearly 8 percent decline in aid in 2022, a circumstance made worse by growing needs and shrinking budgets due to rising debt and related financial pressures.

Described in terms of both “financial and human capital,” the additional support will bolster several foundation initiatives including polio eradication, scaling access to antibiotics, such as azithromycin, in countries where infant mortality is highest, and accelerating development of new tuberculosis drugs, as well as improving the quality of and access to digital post-secondary education.

At WEF, the foundation’s “Future of Health” event is expected to showcase a range of recent ready-to-go health, science, and technology innovations that the foundation has supported, emphasizing the ongoing need to provide effective, simple, and portable solutions to people living in low-income countries. In addition, foundation co-chair Bill Gates intends to address the role that AI and related technologies can play in fast-tracking health innovations and the delivery of care.

“We can’t talk about the future of humanity without talking about the future of health,” said Gates. “Every day, newborn babies and young children die simply because of where they were born. Mothers die giving birth, leaving families devastated….It’s unacceptable, particularly because we have already developed many of the solutions that could save their lives. Building a stronger, more stable world starts with good health.”

“An investment in global health is an investment in our future,” said foundation co-chair Melinda French Gates. “When the world puts money behind proven solutions, it builds stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities for generations to come.”

(Photo credit: Wikimedia/Jacklee)