SEATTLE (September 12, 2022) —The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today released its sixth annual
Goalkeepers Report, noting that nearly every indicator of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is off
track at the halfway point for achieving them by 2030. Despite significant setbacks caused by
overlapping global crises, the report is optimistic, underscoring opportunities to accelerate progress
toward ending poverty, fighting inequality, and reducing the impacts of climate change.
Co-authored by foundation Co-chairs Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates, this year’s report, “The
Future of Progress,” notes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, wars in Ukraine and Yemen, ongoing
climate and food crises, and macro-economic headwinds on global ambitions to improve and save
millions of lives by 2030.
“It’s no surprise that progress has stalled amid numerous crises,” said Bill Gates. “But this is not a reason
to give up. Every action matters to save lives and reduce suffering. Turning away would be a mistake.”
In their respective essays, French Gates and Gates call for new approaches to achieving gender equality
and food security. They also cite dramatic progress in dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic—a nearly 60%
decline in annual deaths between 2000 and 2020—as an example of what can happen when the world
invests in long-term solutions and innovative approaches to entrenched issues.
“The world faces many challenges—some of which may seem insurmountable. Yet, despite the setbacks,
I’m filled with hope that we can solve these problems together and save millions of lives through human
ingenuity and innovation,” French Gates said. “We know progress is possible because the global
community has faced difficult odds before and won. And we can do it again.”
This year’s report includes best- and worst-case scenarios for ending preventable infectious diseases and
malnutrition, improving access to quality education, increasing access to financial services, and
achieving gender equality.
“At this historical inflection point, how the world responds to setbacks is a choice that will impact what
happens now and for generations to come. Millions of lives hang in the balance,” said Gates Foundation
CEO Mark Suzman. “We call on governments, the private sector, civil society, and philanthropic
organizations to do more to meet the ambitious goals and to keep investing in new ways of thinking,
new tools and data, and proven solutions to ensure every person has the opportunity to live a healthy,
productive life.”
In her essay, French Gates cites data that shows the world will not reach gender equality until at least
2108—three generations later than previously projected. She calls for approaches that do more than
just ensure a woman’s ability to earn a livelihood, but to control it.
“When it comes to the future of progress—not just on the global goals related to gender equality but on
those on good health, quality education, ending poverty, and more—there is one engine that can drive
them all: women’s power,” French Gates writes
Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Report Says Progress Still Possible Despite Setbacks to Global Goals
