Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, has called on world leaders to take action to save millions of children’s lives and make significant progress in reducing deaths from preventable diseases by 2045. Speaking at the 2025 Goalkeepers event in New York, Gates emphasized the need for governments to invest in the health of all people, especially children, and to deliver on the promise of a healthier future.
The event, which brought together over 1,000 global leaders from government, community, philanthropy, and the private sector, highlighted the importance of scaling up affordable and lifesaving innovations to achieve significant reductions in child mortality. According to Gates, sustaining global investments in child health and scaling up these innovations could cut child deaths in half again over the next 20 years.
Gates also announced a new pledge of $912 million over three years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria’s 2026-2028 replenishment. The Global Fund has saved over 70 million lives since its inception in 2002 and has reduced deaths from AIDS, TB, and malaria by over 60%. The foundation’s new pledge brings its total commitments to the Global Fund to $4.9 billion since 2002.
The Goalkeepers event also honored the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, with the 2025 Global Goalkeeper Award for his commitment to advancing the Global Goals. Additionally, 10 champions were recognized for their ingenuity and resilience in driving progress in child survival worldwide.
The event comes at a critical time, as global development assistance for health has fallen by 21% between 2024 and 2025, reaching a 15-year low. Gates emphasized that the choices made by global leaders now will determine the future of millions of children and the progress made in reducing preventable deaths.
The Gates Foundation has released a roadmap for saving millions of children’s lives and making significant progress in reducing deaths from preventable diseases by 2045. The roadmap includes renewing investments in proven initiatives, prioritizing primary health care systems, and investing in further research and development of breakthrough innovations.
The foundation will release its 2025 Goalkeepers Report later this year, focusing on the impact of leaders’ choices on saving children’s lives. The report will provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made and the challenges that remain in achieving the Global Goals.
