Following the news that billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has committed to giving away his whole fortune in the next 20 years, we look at what his foundation spends its money on.
Plus, as the global health world flocks to Geneva, we take a look at who funds the World Health Organization — and which donors stepped up the organization’s funding plate the last time U.S. President Donald Trump retreated.
Also in this edition: A new global health duo with $1 billion to spend, and where the U.N. plans to make cuts.
+ Are there topics you want to read more about in Money Matters? We want your feedback.
A look back at the Gates Foundation
This is a preview of Devex Money Matters
Sign up to this weekly newsletter and get the latest in development funding in your inbox every Monday.
Earlier this month, the Gates Foundation announced it would be doubling its philanthropic spending over the next two decades — with Bill Gates, the organization’s 69-year-old founder, committing to giving 99% of his wealth to the foundation by the time he turns 90.
“2025 may be and is likely to be the first year of this century [that] preventable child mortality actually rises rather than declines. Where we see an increase in preventable deaths, in HIV, tuberculosis and malaria,” said Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman in a press briefing during the announcement. “And so we want to do everything we can to offset that.”
Over the next two decades, the foundation will spend $200 billion on ending maternal and child death, preventing infectious disease, and lifting millions of people out of poverty. To get a sense of where those funds might go, my colleague Alecsondra Kieren Si digs into the past, parsing through $5.4 billion in Gates contributions last year.
Read: How the Gates Foundation spent $5.4 billion in 2024 (Pro)
ICYMI: Bill Gates commits most of his fortune to Gates Foundation, closing 2045
Further reading: Risk-averse Gates bets his fortune on the future
+ Join our Devex Pro virtual event on May 27 to explore how philanthropic networks align funders, unlock capital, and advance shared goals such as localization. Register now.
This event is exclusively for Pro members. Not yet a member? Start your 15-day free trial today to access all the analyses, insider reporting, career resources, and events exclusive to Pro readers.
Funding activity
We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of those that have been viewed the most in the past 10 days.
The Global Environment Facility has approved a $15.6 million initiative to protect a globally significant marine biodiversity hot spot covering Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama.
The World Bank has announced an $80 million loan to spur economic and agricultural development in Ukraine.
The European Union is providing €4 million ($4.5 million) aid to support the urgent needs of displaced and vulnerable communities in Mauritania.
The United Nations is seeking consultancy services to conduct a fiscal analysis of the new child protection and family support system in the Czech Republic.
The Inter-American Development Bank is inviting proposals from qualified firms for the construction of a medical institute in Peru.
German funder KfW is looking for bidders for the supply and installation of energy-efficient lighting systems in public institutions in Tunisia.
+ Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial and explore funding opportunities from over 850 funders with the data analysis and industry intelligence you need to win them, in addition to all our exclusive analyses and news content.
Who’s funding WHO?
Today marks the start of the 78th World Health Assembly, and as thousands of global health experts gather in Geneva, budget concerns are in the air. Largely, that’s the result of the U.S. government’s decision to significantly cut its contributions to the World Health Organization.
The U.S. has long been WHO’s biggest supporter. But we set out to find out just how much of the agency’s revenue comes from the U.S. and who’s responsible for the rest. My colleague Miguel Antonio Tamonan digs into the details, finding that over the last decade, the U.S. was WHO’s largest donor for every year except 2020 and 2021, a period that followed President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agency during his first time in office.
Back then, there were other donors to soften the blow. Germany quadrupled its contribution to WHO in 2020, and the Gates Foundation outspent every government but the U.S. during the 10-year period from 2014 to 2023. This time around, all other bilateral donors would need to at least double their total contributions to make up for the loss of the U.S., Miguel reports — but with aid cuts rippling across Europe, today’s context feels very different than last time around.
Read: Who’s funding the World Health Organization? (Pro)
More reading: 6 key issues to watch at the 78th World Health Assembly
Listen: Previewing the World Health Assembly, and Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
Go deeper: Here’s all you need to know for #WHA78
+ Our team of global health reporters is in Geneva for WHA78 and will be hosting a series of panel sessions and high-level interviews with some important global health leaders. Check out the full program of Devex @ WHA78 and request an invite to join us if you are in Geneva or register to watch online.
Gavi gives
In other global health news, there’s a new team in town: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has partnered up with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to strengthen countries’ health care systems while boosting their immunization support.
“We really have the potential to kind of save millions more lives by doing this,” David Kinder, Gavi’s director of development finance, tells my colleague Jenny Lei Ravelo. “And this is just one of the first of a number of partnerships we want to bring together.”
The partnership will work like this: Gavi — an organization that seeks to connect millions of children with vaccines — will blend its grant resources with AIIB, one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. As part of that process, AIIB will provide up to $1 billion in financing to support public-sector health projects, which will be complemented with concessional resources from Gavi.
The organization isn’t planning to stop at AIIB, Kinder explains. Instead, Gavi will continue partnering with different MDBs to offer different, innovative types of funding for low- and middle-income countries — something Kinder hopes will help nations prioritize investments in health infrastructure.
Read: Gavi eyes blended financing in new partnership with AIIB
+ How does MDBs' unique ability to multiply scarce taxpayer funding through capital markets make them the last viable financing vehicles standing in this time of dwindling bilateral aid? Join us and a panel of development finance experts on May 28 to discuss this as well as identify where funding will flow when traditional sources disappear and how organizations must adapt. Save your spot now.
On second thought …
Six months ago, the United Kingdom committed nearly £2 billion to the World Bank’s concessional fund for the world’s lowest-income countries. But now, the United Kingdom is reevaluating its pledge — a move that some have called the first of many “devastating” consequences to come after the government decided to cut its aid budget.
For the last 15 years, the U.K. has contributed at least 0.5% of its gross national income to development assistance. But in February, the country’s Labour government announced it would be cutting that spend to just 0.3% to boost the country’s defense budget. Now, the World Bank’s International Development Association fund might be the first to feel the effects.
“The grim reality of the aid cuts is emerging as the U.K. signals it is looking to backtrack on promises it has already made to the world's poorest people,” says Richard Watts, senior adviser on development finance at Save the Children UK.
Read: Will the UK renege on its pledge to IDA?
UNfavorable situations
The World Bank isn’t the only one feeling the pain — the entire United Nations system is under financial strain, and U.N. chief António Guterres has started to lay out the damage.
Last week, my colleague Colum Lynch had the details: In an address to the U.N. membership, Guterres spoke of the need for major staff cuts, including the elimination of 20% of civilian workers across key parts of the U.N. secretariat. The Trump administration’s latest budget proposal for next year included an 87% cut to contributions to the U.N.
“Make no mistake — uncomfortable decisions lie ahead,” said Guterres, speaking at a public meeting last Monday. “It may be easier — and even tempting — to ignore them or kick the can down the road. But that road is a dead end.”
Read: UN chief outlines ‘painful’ survival plan for world body
Sign up to Money Matters for an inside look at the biggest stories in development funding.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
