It’s ‘wrong’ for us to be a key contributor to global health – CEO Gates

Jennifer Rigby

LONDON (Reuters) – It is wrong for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to play such a large role in global health financing, but the group will not back down until others emerge, its chief executive said.

The Gates Foundation has faced criticism for wielding too much power and influence in global health, including within the World Health Organization, without the necessary accountability.

In his annual letter released Tuesday, chief executive Mark Suzman responded to criticism by saying the fund will spend $8.3 billion this year, the largest annual budget ever.

“It is not right for a private charity to be one of the biggest sponsors of a multinational global health effort,” he said, adding that countries should take the lead.

“But make no mistake: where there is a solution that can improve livelihoods and save lives, we will strongly advocate for it. We will not stop using our influence, as well as our monetary obligations, to find solutions.”

Suzman said the fund’s goal was not to set the agenda for the WHO or other global health groups, but to provide them with better options and data when they make key decisions.

Bill and Melinda Gates, the tech billionaire-turned-philanthropists who created the foundation, have long defended their efforts against questions about whether their huge payouts give them undue influence and impact on global development.

Along with funding efforts to eradicate diseases like malaria and polio, the Gates Foundation is also the WHO’s second-largest donor, one of the questions critics regularly raise about its role, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I would be happy if many other governments included us on this list, because it would mean saving more lives,” Suzman wrote.

The WHO agreed a deal last year that would see member states increase their committed contributions, reducing the role of private donors and giving the UN agency greater spending flexibility.

(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, editing by Mark Heinrich)

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