(Seattle, WA, Tuesday, September 14, 2021) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released its fifth annual Goalkeepers Report this week, with new data about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on health and the global economy. This year’s findings show that the disparities caused by the pandemic remain stark, and that those who have been hardest hit will be the slowest to recover. Fortunately, the report also found that amid the devastation of the pandemic, people stepped up to avert some of the worst-case scenarios experts had predicted, protecting decades of global progress toward the improvement of health and reduction of poverty.

As cases spike due to the Delta variant, it is more apparent than ever that we won’t be able to end the pandemic until more people worldwide can receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates are calling on the world to implement systems and policies to ensure that vaccines are distributed equitably across the globe and focus on long-term investments in health that will be critical to getting the world back on track to address fundamental issues like health, hunger and inequality.

Soundbites — Melinda French Gates, Co-Chair – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• OUR REPORT FOUND THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS PUSHED AN ADDITIONAL 31 MILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD INTO EXTREME POVERTY. ALL OF US HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY COVID-19, BUT WE HAVE NOT ALL FELT THAT IMPACT EQUALLY. AND WITHOUT ACCESS TO VACCINES, THE HARDEST HIT WILL BE THE SLOWEST TO RECOVER.
• LAST YEAR, WE FEARED AN UNPRECEDENTED REVERSAL OF PROGRESS ACROSS NEARLY EVERY MEASURE THAT WE TRACK, INCLUDING HEALTH, HUNGER AND INEQUALITY. FNOW ORTUNATELY, WE’VE PREVENTED MANY OF THE WORST-CASE SCENARIOS. YOU KNOW ONE YEAR AGO, WE PREDICTED A DROP OF FOURTEEN PERCENTAGE POINTS IN GLOBAL VACCINE COVERAGE. OUR REPORT SHOWS THE DROP, WHILE STILL UNACCEPTABLE, LUCKILY WAS ONLY HALF OF THAT.
• YOU KNOW IT’S A MORAL OUTRAGE AND A PUBLIC HEALTH TRAGEDY THAT VACCINES ARE NOT DISTRIBUTED EQUALLY. WE CAN’T PUT THE PANDEMIC BEHIND US UNTIL MORE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE HAVE ACCESS TO THESE COVID-19 VACCINES. WE’VE GOT TO ADDRESS THIS IMMEDIATELY, WHILE WE’RE ALSO INVESTING IN LONG-TERM HEALTH SOLUTIONS THAT WILL PUT THE WORLD BACK ON TRACK.