In its eighth annual Goalkeepers report, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has urgently called on world leaders to increase global health spending in areas where it is most needed. The report emphasizes the critical importance of boosting children’s health and nutrition, particularly in light of the escalating global climate crisis.
Titled “A Race to Nourish a Warming World,” the report warns that without immediate global action, climate change could condemn an additional 40 million children to stunting and 28 million more to wasting between 2024 and 2050. The foundation argues that scaling up effective solutions now can prevent these dire outcomes while simultaneously building resilience to climate change and fostering essential economic growth.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 148 million children currently experience stunting—a condition that impairs physical and mental development—while 45 million suffer from wasting, which leaves them weak and emaciated. These conditions significantly increase the risk of developmental delays and mortality, representing the most severe forms of chronic and acute malnutrition.
Despite these alarming statistics, the report highlights a troubling trend: the total share of foreign aid directed towards Africa has decreased over the past decade. In 2010, African countries received 40% of foreign aid; this figure has now plummeted to just 25%, the lowest percentage in 20 years. This decline is particularly concerning given that more than half of all child deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, leaving millions at risk of preventable diseases.
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, expressed his concern about the current global landscape, stating, “Today, the world is contending with more challenges than at any point in my adult life: inflation, debt, new wars. Unfortunately, aid isn’t keeping pace with these needs, particularly in the places that need it most.” He believes that global health can still achieve a resurgence even amidst competing challenges for government budgets.
Gates described malnutrition as “the world’s worst child health crisis,” exacerbated by climate change. He urged for sustained global health funding and immediate action to combat child malnutrition through support for the Child Nutrition Fund—a new platform aimed at coordinating donor financing for nutrition initiatives. He also called on governments to fully fund established institutions like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
“If we do these three things,” Gates asserted, “we won’t just usher in a new global health boom and save millions of lives—we’ll also prove that humanity can still rise to meet our greatest challenges.”
The report further outlines the catastrophic economic costs associated with malnutrition. According to the World Bank, undernutrition results in an annual productivity loss of approximately $3 trillion globally. In low-income countries, this loss can account for 3% to 16% (or more) of GDP—equating to a permanent recession at 2008 levels each year.
Gates emphasized that investing in nutrition is crucial for combating climate change’s impacts. “Malnutrition makes every forward step our species wants to take heavier and harder,” he stated. Conversely, solving malnutrition could facilitate progress on various fronts: reducing extreme poverty, enhancing vaccine effectiveness, and decreasing mortality rates from deadly diseases like malaria and pneumonia.
The Gates Foundation’s report serves as a clarion call for immediate action from global leaders to prioritize health spending targeted at combating malnutrition and its associated challenges. By addressing these issues head-on, there is hope not only for saving millions of children’s lives but also for fostering a healthier future for generations to come.
