UAE and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation explore deepening partnership

HH Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed, Chairman of the International Philanthropic and Humanitarian Council, recently received Bill Gates, Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and former CEO of Microsoft, during a visit to the UAE.

His Highness and Gates noted the progress made by joint initiatives in global health and agriculture, and discussed the potential of artificial intelligence to speed advances against broader development challenges in health, education and food systems.

Since 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent $53.8 billion to make the planet a better place to live in. The number of children dying each year before their fifth birthday has fallen by half since 2000. Millions more children are surviving.

UAE a cornerstone in global efforts to tackle Polio

Incredible news: The UAE has made a $30M commitment to end polio for good. https://t.co/doYXikuisr

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) June 12, 2017

HH Sheikh Theyab and the chair of the foundation explored strategies to strengthen their efforts to uplift lives and livelihoods globally, including by combating different preventable diseases such as polio and neglected tropical diseases.

UAE President HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has made significant contributions to global efforts to eradicate polio since 2011. He has also been funding an urgent polio vaccination campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The UAE is a cornerstone in international efforts to tackle Polio – a highly contagious disease, particularly affecting children under 5 years old. It spreads through person-to-person contact and attacks the human nervous system, especially causing paralysis.

UAE-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partnership

Gates and Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed also discussed progress made by landmark decisions announced at the COP28 Summit in 2023. These include the Reaching the Last Mile Fund – a donor collaborative first established in 2017 by the UAE President.

The Fund targets a couple of neglected tropical diseases – lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. During the climate conference in Dubai last year, the Fund expanded from $100 million to a target $500 million.The conversation also focused on the progress made by the UAE-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partnership to accelerate action on climate and strengthen global food systems. Gates lauded the UAE’s profound dedication to improving the lives of all.