3rd June 2025 1:22:10 PM
2 mins readMicrosoft founder Bill Gates has revealed plans to make a positive impact on health and education services in Africa.
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Speaking in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, the 69-year-old expressed his willingness to donate majority of his fortune to improve services in these sectors over the next 20 years.
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"I recently made a commitment that my wealth will be given away over the next 20 years. The majority of that funding will be spent on helping you address challenges here in Africa," he said in an address at the African Union (AU) headquarters.
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"By unleashing human potential through health and education, every country in Africa should be on a path to prosperity," he added.
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Last month, Bill Gates announced that he would use almost all his money for charitable causes before the foundation closes.
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He noted that his foundation, The Gates Foundation, would focus on improving primary healthcare.
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"What we've learned is that helping the mother be healthy and have great nutrition before she gets pregnant, while she is pregnant, delivers the strongest results."
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"Ensuring the child receives good nutrition in their first four years as well makes all the difference," he said.
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Three priorities of the Gates Foundation include reducing maternal and child mortality rates, ending deadly infectious diseases, and raising young billionaires.
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On the other hand, Bill Gates has encouraged African countries to embrace and integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI), emphasizing the continent's unique opportunity to leapfrog outdated models.
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"Africa largely skipped traditional banking and now you have a chance, as you build your next generation healthcare systems, to think about how AI is built into that," he said.
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He cited how Rwanda has advanced with the assistance of AI-enabled ultrasound technology.
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Bill Gates added that this is improving services by detecting high-risk pregnancies.
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