Bill Gates pledges Ksh.118B to fight AIDS, TB and malaria amid global health aid cuts

American philanthropist Bill Gates has pledged $912 million (about Ksh.118 billion) to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, calling on world leaders to reverse recent cuts to health aid that threaten decades of progress in reducing child mortality.

At the 2025 Goalkeepers event in New York, U.S., the Gates Foundation chair said the funding, spread over three years, would support the Global Fund’s 2026–2028 replenishment cycle.

Since 2002, the Global Fund, a Geneva-based independent nonprofit, says it has saved more than 70 million lives and reduced deaths from AIDS, TB, and malaria by over 60 percent.

“Humanity is at a crossroads,” Gates told more than 1,000 global leaders and stakeholders. “With millions of children’s lives on the line, global leaders have a once-in-a-generation chance to do something extraordinary.”

The pledge comes as donor countries, led by the United States, have slashed global development assistance for health by 21 percent between 2024 and 2025, bringing funding to a 15-year low, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

It also matches its donation in 2022, the last time the Global Fund raised money on its three-year budget cycle.

Gates warned that without renewed commitments, the world risks losing gains that cut child mortality in half since 2000, from 10 million deaths annually to fewer than 5 million.

He urged governments to sustain investments in initiatives such as the Global Fund and Gavi, strengthen primary health systems, and accelerate the rollout of innovations including malaria-prevention tools, long-acting HIV drugs, maternal vaccines, and artificial intelligence for drug delivery.

Since its inception in 2000 by the Microsoft co-founder and his then-wife, Melinda, the Gates Foundation has committed $4.9 billion to the Global Fund, making it one of its largest investments.

Gates said every dollar invested yields an estimated $19 in health and economic returns.

“An entire generation is alive today thanks to smart investments and the hard work of governments and partners,” Gates said. “Now we must go further so the next generation grows up in a world where no child dies from preventable causes.”

The Global Fund’s replenishment drive, co-hosted by South Africa and the United Kingdom, concludes in November.