Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates has revealed that Nigeria gets the largest share of intervention funds allocated by the foundation in Africa, News About Nigeria reports.
According to him, this is due to the large population of people in the country compared to other African countries.
Gates made the revelation during an interview with newsmen on the sidelines of the 2024 NutriVision Dialogue on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said, “We spend a lot in Asia, but we spend even more in Africa. The country where we spend the most in Africa is Nigeria. That makes sense because of the population and the incredible needs that are here. That means that I’ve literally spent billions in Nigeria. I’m glad that things like the child mortality rate have come down, but we could do a lot better.”
Giving details on the foundation’s intervention, Gates emphasised that reducing global health inequality and eradicating measles, malaria, and polio are top priorities for the foundation.
He also stated that the foundation plans to increase its spending in the future, with a focus on improving primary healthcare.
“Our work is almost entirely focused on primary healthcare because the impact per dollar is dramatically greater than anywhere else,” he said.
He further noted that the foundation is not limited to the health sector as it also invests heavily in the agricultural sector, recognising that boosting agricultural productivity is crucial to Nigeria’s economic development.
Gates also disclosed that the foundation supports partners in implementing food fortification for staple foods, which enhances the nutritional quality of the food supply and provides public health benefits.
