Bill Gates: Why I am Optimistic About Nigeria
Philanthropist and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, (BMGF), Bill Gates will on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, visit Nigeria to learn more about the progress being made in technology, innovation and development. In this exclusive interview with Chiemelie Ezeobi, he explains why he is optimistic about Nigeria’s future and the role young innovators are going to play in it.
Welcome to Nigeria. This is your first time back in Nigeria since 2018. What brings you back? What are you planning to do and see while you are in Niger and Nigeria?
Thank you. I’m very excited to be back in Nigeria and visiting Niger for the first time. I’m coming to listen and learn more about the innovations that West Africans are developing and how their ingenuity is helping to address pressing challenges.
As for Nigeria: It is an incredibly important, vibrant place with a rapidly growing population of young people. They are Nigeria’s most valuable resource, with the potential to accomplish great things if they have the right conditions to do so.
For more than two decades, our foundation has supported partners working to make sure that every Nigerian has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life. I am looking forward to meeting with some of them on this trip—people who are doing inspiring work in primary health care, maternal and newborn health, and agriculture. I’ll be speaking to young innovators about the role innovation can play in creating a better, more equitable future for all Nigerians. And as I usually do when I visit countries we work in, I’ll be meeting with leaders to learn about their plans and encourage them to make decisions to advance health and opportunity for their people.
Your foundation has invested significantly in Nigeria for two decades. How would you assess the nation’s progress in achieving better health outcomes, and what advice would you offer?
I’ve learned a lot from our Nigerian partners over the years, about where there are challenges and what’s possible for the future. We’ve seen progress in some important areas. For instance, just five years ago, wild poliovirus was a major health concern. In 2020, the country was certified free of wild poliovirus. The fight against polio isn’t over, but Nigeria has shown that it’s winnable.
And cities like Lagos are digitally connected through platforms that didn’t exist when I was here last. The progress in digital financial tools—which can change people’s lives by making it easier to save, spend, and borrow money—has been impressive.
But I’d echo what we’ve heard young people here say, which is that there is still a lot of work to be done. Millions of children continue to face chronic malnutrition, immunization rates are low, and the primary healthcare system doesn’t work nearly as well as it should in a country with an economy as big as Nigeria’s. Innovations aren’t reaching everyone, resulting in extreme inequities for women and people living in remote areas.
Where there’s been progress, it’s often because the government, private sector, and civil society committed to solve a problem together and made the necessary investments. If they make greater commitments to improve the health system, then greater progress is absolutely possible—and our foundation will do all we can to support this work.
During your visit in 2018, you emphasized the importance of investing in human capital, particularly in the health and education sectors. What message do you bring to Nigeria this time around?
When I last visited Nigeria, I spoke to government leaders about the potential for growth. Even though growth hasn’t been as strong as everyone hoped for then, I remain optimistic.
I still believe that Nigeria’s greatest opportunity for growth and prosperity is its people. With the right investment and support, your talented, dynamic young people can help to generate innovative solutions that can grow the economy and improve lives across the country. There are many Nigerian innovations I’m excited about – and many more I want to learn about during my time here.
Our foundation’s primary focus in Nigeria is on health, because without health, there can be no opportunity. Yet in 2020, Nigeria’s federal and state governments only spent $10 per person on health. In sub-Saharan Africa overall, governments spent $31. There needs to be a much bigger financial commitment, to both R&D for breakthrough innovations and primary health care. However, this will take more than just budget allocations.
There needs to be accountability to make sure that money gets where it’s supposed to go, it’s spent on the most important improvements, facilities have the supplies they need, and health workers have the incentives and oversight to show up to work. All the medical innovations in the world won’t make a difference if there aren’t enough health workers to deliver them.
What message would you like to convey to Nigerian and African youth, who are really inspired by you, on what they can do to make a positive impact on the world?
I’m inspired and excited by the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists here in Nigeria. Your creative and tech industries alone show Nigerians can overcome a lot of obstacles and bring amazing things to the world. And I’m encouraged at how young people in Nigeria push for progress.
To the youth of Nigeria and across the continent, my message is simple: Stay hopeful and committed to progress. Use your voice, talents, and networks to continue to advocate for change and to help bring innovations to the people who need them the most.
Your voice is critical to ensuring growth. Your experience is critical to solving the problems people face in your communities and across Nigeria—and around the world. Our foundation is here to support you in building a healthier, more equitable future.
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“There needs to be accountability to make sure that money gets where it’s supposed to go, it’s spent on the most important improvements, facilities have the supplies they need, and health workers have the incentives and oversight to show up to work. All the medical innovations in the world won’t make a difference if there aren’t enough health workers to deliver them”
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