Gates Foundation pledges $7B for health, farming in Africa

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI
Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Bill Gates, on a visit to Kenya, has announced his foundation will spend $7 billion to improve health, gender equality and farming in Africa. The new pledge will be spent over the next four years and is in addition to existing Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funding to strengthen health systems across the continent. Gates said in a statement that Africa’s young people have the talent and opportunity to accelerate progress and help solve the world’s most pressing problems. The new funding comes as countries in East Africa and the Horn of Africa face the worst drought in decades.