Malnutrition. This was the answer Bill Gates, the philanthropist and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, gave on Thursday when he was asked what global problem he would fix if he had a magic wand. 

Gates said many children do not reach their physical or mental potential due to malnutrition. 

“It destroys so much potential,” he said. 

Gates, who is visiting Africa for the first time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, was speaking with University of Nairobi students in the Kenyan capital. 

He announced the foundation would spend more than $7-billion over the next four years to support African countries and institutions working to develop and implement innovative approaches to fight hunger, disease, gender inequality and poverty. 

This new commitment to support African countries is in addition to existing Gates Foundation funding to multilateral organisations, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  

“The big global challenges we face are persistent. But, we have to remember, so are the people solving them,” said Gates. “Our foundation will continue to support solutions in health, agriculture and other critical areas — and the systems to get them out of the labs and to the people who need them.” 

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Gates recounted how there had been significant progress in Kenya in cutting down maternal mortality in the rural parts of the country.  

“Every day, men and women across Africa are rising to meet the biggest challenges facing their families, communities, and countries,” said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The foundation will continue to invest in the researchers, entrepreneurs, innovators and healthcare workers who are working to unlock the tremendous human potential that exists across the continent.”  

Bill Gates said that Africa, referring to Kenya specifically, was most affected by climate change even though the country had contributed the least to global carbon emissions. The country is in the grips of a devastating drought. 

He said that the science to improve food production was at hand and that technology, including the use of satellites and drones, could play a significant role in improving food production. 

“The Gates Foundation funds the global system that improves seeds,” he said. “But we need to do more. We should see a dramatic increase in agriculture. Although we have challenges, we are capable of solving them.   

“This is a critical moment. Everyone has a role to play.” 

He said while climate change was a very complex concept, everybody should have at least some knowledge about it. 

“Invest in your own understanding as a young person. There is a lot of talent in the world. Innovation will come from young people. I think it is an exciting time that lies ahead.” 

He warned that aid budgets from the world’s richest countries would be reduced as European countries channel funds to relief efforts in the fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

“Solutions will have to be frugal,” he said. 

Gates said he was stunned to learn that Africa was a net importer of food despite the lower cost of labour and land, highlighting the lower production per hectare of crops and the lack of roads as the reasons for the continent struggling to be competitive in the world food market.  

In an answer to a question from the audience, he said it was true that rich countries provided subsidies to farmers.  

“There have been efforts to address this. But there are many things in the world that are unfair and this is one of them,” he said. 

Referring to what rich countries can do to address climate change he said: “They should rapidly reduce carbon emissions to zero.” However, he said,  this was unlikely to happen before 2050. DM/MC