Alleviating Poverty

Written by Bill Gates

Development aid doesn't just benefit people in poor countries. It benefits us all. Just think about the economic miracles that have occurred over the last couple of decades in countries like China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, and Turkey. The people in those countries are largely responsible for the incredible progress that has occurred, and economic aid from wealthier countries played a key supporting role.

And now, these countries—having recently figured out how to reduce poverty and increase their technical capabilities—are in a unique position to work alongside other better-off nations to help the world’s poorest 2 billion people. Over time, this positive cycle of strategic aid will reduce the amount of economic assistance that will be required of wealthier countries.

On the other hand, if wealthier countries cut their contributions to development, people in poor countries will continue to suffer and their economies won’t grow. The world hardly needs more suffering.

The U.S. spends about 1 percent of its total budget on development aid—about the same as many other wealthier countries. As I will say in my report to the G20, that amount of money isn’t causing the fiscal problems in the U.S. or Europe.

The fact is; development aid is a small investment that generates huge returns. In the past 50 years, it has played an important role in agricultural advances that have saved a billion people from starvation. Innovations in the development and distribution of vaccines, and health advances, has reduced the number of children under the age of 5 who die each year—from 20 million to fewer than 8 million. This is even more amazing when you consider that the world population has more than doubled in that time.