(Seattle, WA, Tuesday, September 15, 2020) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released its fourth annual Goalkeepers Report this week. The report contains new data about the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and the global economy. It also shows how the pandemic has stopped a 20-year streak of progress improving health and reducing poverty around the world, undermining the progress the world has made—and still needs to make—toward equality.

No matter where you live, whether your government is rich or poor, no single country will be able to meet this challenge alone. In order to control and eventually end the pandemic, Bill and Melinda Gates are calling on the world to collaborate on COVID-19 testing and vaccines and ensure that these critical tools reach those who need them most. Further – it’s essential that we all follow public health guidance: wear a mask, maintain social distance and wash hands frequently.