ABUJA, Nigeria, 4 September, 2024 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- Yesterday, Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, engaged in a dialogue with young leaders, nutrition experts, advocates, and Grammy Award winning musician Jon Batiste. In this dynamic conversation, the participants exchanged transformative ideas that can address malnutrition through health, agriculture, and financing solutions. These include smartphones that can tell farmers which seeds to plant depending on the weather, multiple micronutrient supplements that reduce maternal anemia and save newborn lives, and cooking oil fortified with vitamin A to strengthen immune systems.
Throughout his opening remarks, Mr. Gates underscored the importance of reducing malnutrition especially in pregnant mothers and young children. He said: “vaccines saved millions of lives and improved the health of those children so they can achieve their whole potential. But now malnutrition is holding back their potential, because it can have lifelong effects. If not addressed it affects your brain, and it affects your body.”
He mentioned that solving malnutrition would not be simple, stressing that it “affects the most rural and low-income communities.” To really solve it, he said: “you’ve got to work with the health sector, agricultural sector, and educate people.”
Commenting on his upcoming meetings with philanthropists and government leaders in Nigeria, Mr. Gates outlined the important role that they can play in driving down the cost of nutrition interventions, designing education programs and making nutritious food more accessible.
Co-hosted by local partners TechnoServe and Nile University, and live streamed across Africa by Africa.com and Channels Television, Mr. Gates’ remarks were followed by an interactive Q&A session with the audience and reflections from Jon Batiste’s recent visit to Nigeria. The event brought together nutrition experts and young people committed to addressing malnutrition and food insecurity across the continent and was designed to inspire transformative solutions to shape Africa’s future.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Africa.com.
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates and the board of trustees.
About Africa.com
Africa.com is a leading digital media company that provides a trusted voice on African news, business, culture, and information. With a reach spanning the continent and beyond, Africa.com delivers timely content that informs, inspires, and connects. Through insightful perspectives, and comprehensive coverage, Africa.com highlights the diverse stories shaping Africa’s future, making it the go-to source for understanding the dynamic and evolving landscape of the continent. In addition to its robust online platform, Africa.com hosts live stream events across Africa, engaging audiences through multiple channels to bring the continent’s most pressing issues to the forefront.
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