15% Of Children In Northern Nigeria May Die Before Age Five

15% Of Children In Northern Nigeria May Die Before Age Five – Bill Gates.
Gates Foundation pledges $912m to Global Fund amid global aid cuts.
Declining health funding threatens decades of child mortality progress.

Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, has expressed deep concern over child mortality rates in Nigeria, warning that a child born in the northern region faces a 15 percent chance of dying before the age of five.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Gates made the disclosure on Monday at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York, urging world governments not to withdraw support for global health funding at a time when millions of children remain vulnerable.

“You can either be part of improving that or act like that doesn’t matter,” Gates said in an interview ahead of his foundation’s annual Goalkeepers event.

To strengthen his call, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $912 million contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The pledge comes amid sweeping aid cuts, particularly from the United States and other donor countries.

“I am not capable of making up what the government cuts, and I don’t want to create an illusion of that,” Gates stated, stressing that philanthropy alone cannot bridge the funding gap.

Data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows that global development assistance dropped by 21 percent between 2024 and 2025, the lowest level in 15 years. Gates warned that if this continues, gains made since 2000 in halving child mortality and saving five million lives annually could be undone.

“What’s happening to the health of the world’s children is worse than most people realise, but our long-term prospects are better than most people can imagine,” he added.

Earlier this year, Gates pledged to give away nearly his entire $200 billion fortune by 2045, accelerating his philanthropy in light of urgent global health needs. He emphasised the importance of sustained support for organisations like the Global Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, while investing in innovations such as lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV prevention drug. 15% Of Children In Northern Nigeria May Die Before Age Five – Bill Gates

While many governments cut aid, Spain increased its Global Fund contribution by 12 percent this year and boosted its Gavi support by 30 percent, setting a positive example.

Since its creation in 2000, the Gates Foundation has remained one of the largest supporters of maternal health, disease prevention, and poverty reduction worldwide.