Impatient Optimists
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Countries / Zimbabwe

From Texas to Turkey: Messages From Women in the World

April 17, 2013 / Vicky Markham

My recent travels have taken me from Texas to Turkey, from Ghana to India and Manhattan, real and virtual, with one thing in common - women evoking the need for empowerment as a human right.

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Photo of the Day: There is No Controversy in Saving Lives

January 16, 2013 / Gates Foundation

Photo of the Day: January 16, 2013

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The Stories Behind the Statistics: Early Marriage

December 11, 2012 / Kate Plourde

An introduction to several stories behind the statistics of early marriage and its devastating impact on health and social welfare of adolescent girls around the world.

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Why Economic Empowerment Is Key to Reducing Violence Against Women

December 07, 2012 / Key Correspondents Team

When women are empowered their families are healthier, more children go to school, agricultural productivity improves and incomes increase. It has also become evident that economic empowerment of women indirectly reduces cases of gender based violence
worldwide.

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World Contraception Day: A Call to African Leaders

September 12, 2012 / Yemurai Nyoni

It is imperative that we enable young people to make healthy reproductive choices to ensure sustainable development. When young people are given the ability to plan our families, we are empowered to overcome poverty, save lives, advance gender equality,
and further education.

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  • "Our desire to bring every good thing to our children is a force for good throughout the world. It’s what propels societies forward." —Melinda Gates

  • The Global Fund has helped to deliver more than 190 million bed nets to protect families from malaria.

  • "The world faces a clear choice. If we invest relatively small amounts, many more poor farmers will be able to feed their families." —Bill Gates, 2012 Annual Letter

  • "When it come to global health, Bill and I are optimists—but we're impatient optimists. Tremendous progress is being made. But there is still so much we're impatient to see done." —Melinda French Gates

  • In Senegal, 80% of households now have a bed net, helping the number of malaria cases there drop 50% in a single year.

©2013 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation