How to protect progress in the middle of a pandemic

By Bill Gates | September 14, 2021

Every September our foundation releases its Goalkeepers report, which tracks the world’s progress on some of the Sustainable Development Goals. I always look forward to working on it, because it’s a great opportunity to dive deep into surprising new data and reflect on all the ways the world is getting better.

Progress has been a lot harder to find these last two years, though. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of almost every person on the planet, threatening to erase the headway we’ve made over the last several decades to reduce inequities in low- and middle-income countries. But this time has also shown me that the world is far more resilient than anyone anticipated.

We’re starting to see reasons for optimism thanks to the remarkable individuals and organizations who are going above and beyond to innovate, adapt, and build resilient systems. In this year’s report, we detail where the world is continuing to protect and even make new progress in the face of extraordinarily difficult circumstances. I hope you’ll take a moment to learn about why this moment is a crucial opportunity to accelerate progress in addressing fundamental issues like health, hunger, and climate change.

Read the 2021 Goalkeepers Report here.

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