ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has pledged to spend the bulk of his estimated $200 billion fortune on improving health and education services in Africa, calling the continent’s youth the key to its future prosperity.
Speaking at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia on Thursday, the 69-year-old philanthropist said his foundation would focus on strengthening primary healthcare and supporting local innovation — particularly the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform medical services.
“By unleashing human potential through health and education, every country in Africa should be on a path to prosperity,” Gates said.
The remarks come weeks after he announced plans to give away 99% of his wealth by 2045, after which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — long a major donor in global health — will shut down operations.
Gates’s commitment is a significant vote of confidence in Africa’s future at a time when the continent is grappling with budget cuts to foreign aid.
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump has reduced support to key health programmes, including HIV/AIDS treatment, under the “America First” policy.
Focus on Maternal and Child Health
The foundation said its priorities include ending preventable deaths among mothers and babies, eradicating infectious diseases, and lifting millions out of poverty.
“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,” Gates said. “Ensuring the child receives good nutrition in their first four years makes all the difference.”
Gates also urged African innovators to integrate artificial intelligence into healthcare systems early, pointing to Rwanda’s use of AI-assisted ultrasound to identify high-risk pregnancies as a model.
“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.
A Gift in “A Moment of Crisis”
Mozambique’s former First Lady Graça Machel praised Gates’s renewed focus on Africa, saying it came at a critical time for the continent’s development.
“We are counting on Mr Gates’ steadfast commitment to continue walking this path of transformation alongside us,” she said.
Gates has been gradually accelerating his philanthropic giving, inspired by investor Warren Buffett and other prominent donors.
In a recent blog post, he said: “People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them.”
Yet his foundation has also faced criticism, including claims it exerts outsized influence on global health policy and benefits from tax advantages tied to its charitable status.
From Tech Mogul to Philanthropist
Gates, who co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with the late Paul Allen, stepped down as CEO in 2000 and later resigned as chairman in 2014 to focus on philanthropy.
His transition from tech titan to global health donor has reshaped the landscape of charitable giving.
Despite giving away nearly all his fortune, Gates would likely still remain a billionaire, according to Bloomberg estimates — and one of the most influential voices shaping the future of global development.
