A measurement of success in helping the world's poor
Bill Gates says progress will continue if aid and the will to act do not flag
The lives of the world's poorest people have improved more rapidly in the past 15 years than ever before, and I am optimistic that we will do even better in the next 15 years. After all, human knowledge is increasing. We can see this in the development and declining costs of new medicines like HIV drugs, and in the creation of new seeds that allow poor farmers to be more productive. Once such tools are invented, they are never un-invented - they just improve.
Sceptics point out that we have a hard time delivering new tools to the people who need them. This is where innovation in the measurement of governmental and philanthropic performance is making a big difference. That process - setting clear goals, picking the right approach, and then measuring results to get feedback and refine the approach continually - helps us to deliver tools and services to everybody who will benefit.
Innovation to reduce the delivery bottleneck is critical.
Though I am an optimist, I am not blind to the problems we face, or to the challenges we must overcome. The two that worry me most are the possibility that we will be unable to raise the funds needed to pay for health and development projects, and that we will fail to align around clear goals to help the poorest.
The good news is that many developing countries have growing economies that allow them to devote more resources to helping their poorest people. India, for example, is becoming less dependent on aid, and eventually will not need it.
Some countries, like Britain, Norway, Sweden, South Korea and Australia, are increasing their foreign-aid budgets; others, even traditionally generous donors like Japan and the Netherlands, have reduced theirs. The direction of many countries, including the US, France and Germany, is unclear.
Aid is critical. It helps people in the poorest countries meet their basic needs. It funds innovation in the creation of new tools and services, and in their delivery. Unfortunately, aid budgets are threatened by fiscal weakness in advanced countries.