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The Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman on Wednesday warned that child mortality is at risk of rising this year for the first time this century as countries grapple with seismic cuts to Western governments’ aid budgets.
“It is very likely that this year will be the first year of the 21st century, we do not see a decline in child mortality and actually see preventable child mortality rising,” he told PBS anchor and Semafor contributor Amna Nawaz at The Next 3 Billion summit.
“Based on some of the current trends and disruptions, that is the risk we’re facing and it looks very real,” he added.
Suzman on Wednesday also hailed a landmark deal between philanthropic organizations, including the Gates Foundation, and pharmaceutical company Gilead to make HIV prevention drug lenacapavir available at a lower cost in low-income countries.
Two injections of lenacapavir every six months offer near-perfect protection; older prophylactic treatments require daily pills, a challenge in countries with weak health systems. But the drug’s high price point — a yearly course costs $28,218 in the US — and cuts to global aid have impacted its rollout in places hardest hit by HIV.
The organizations struck deals with drugmaker Gilead allowing generic versions to be made and sold overseas. “It’s a huge moment for HIV prevention,” Suzman said.
Some estimates suggest as many as 40 million people in sub-Saharan Africa need to take preventative drugs in order to control the region’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, The New York Times reported.
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Suzman on Wednesday emphasized that organizations such as the Gates Foundation, the largest philanthropic effort of its kind in the world by payout, could never fill the gap left by government funding cuts. The foundation’s budget next year will increase to $9 billion a year, he said. By contrast, US development spending in 2024 was nearly $70 billion.
“No amount of scale can fill that gap,” Suzman said, pointing also to recent aid cuts by other countries, including the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
When asked if there were any indications that US funding cuts could be reversed following recent conversations between Bill Gates, the chair of the Gates Foundation, and US President Donald Trump, Suzman said, “We are making a very strong case and argument that they can and should be, and I think that real test will be coming up shortly.” He later added that he was “cautiously optimistic.”