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From Fred Itua, Abuja
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has called for new approaches in achieving gender equality and food security.
The Foundation also revealed that nearly every indicator of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals is off track at the “halfway point for achieving them by 2030.”
The reservations were expressed in the sixth annual Goalkeepers Report of the Foundation, tagged: “The Future of Progress.” It, however, revealed that despite significant setbacks caused by overlapping global crises, it is optimistic that underscoring opportunities to accelerate progress toward ending poverty, fighting inequality, and reducing the impacts of climate change were still intact.
Co-authored by Foundation Co-chairs, Melinda and Bill Gates, this year’s report, noted: “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, wars in Ukraine and Yemen, ongoing climate and food crises, and macro-economic headwinds on global ambitions to improve and save millions of lives by 2030.”
Bill Gates said: “It’s no surprise that progress has stalled amid numerous crises. But this is not a reason to give up. Every action matters to save lives and reduce suffering. Turning away would be a mistake.”
The duo called for new approaches to achieving gender equality and food security. They also cited dramatic progress in dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic—a nearly 60 per cent decline in annual deaths between 2000 and 2020—as an “example of what can happen when the world invests in long-term solutions and innovative approaches to entrenched issues.
“The world faces many challenges—some of which may seem insurmountable. Yet, despite the setbacks, I’m filled with hope that we can solve these problems together and save millions of lives through human ingenuity and innovation.
“We know progress is possible because the global community has faced difficult odds before and won. And we can do it again,” Melinda Gates said.
The report includes best- and worst-case scenarios for ending preventable infectious diseases and malnutrition, improving access to quality education, increasing access to financial services, and achieving gender equality.
“At this historical inflection point, how the world responds to setbacks is a choice that will impact what happens now and for generations to come. Millions of lives hang in the balance.
“We call on governments, the private sector, civil society, and philanthropic organisations to do more to meet the ambitious goals and to keep investing in new ways of thinking, new tools and data, and proven solutions to ensure every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life,” Gates Foundation CEO, Mark Suzman said
In her essay, Melinda Gates cited data that shows the “world will not reach gender equality until at least 2108—three generations later than previously projected. She calls for approaches that do more than just ensure a woman’s ability to earn a livelihood, but to control it. When it comes to the future of progress—not just on the global goals related to gender equality but on those on good health, quality education, ending poverty, and more—there is one engine that can drive them all: women’s power,” Melinda Gates said.
