In celebration of 20 years of its “Grand Challenges” program, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $30 million for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative in Africa.
The initiative aims to ensure equitable access to AI technology and its benefits, with a strong emphasis on supporting local innovators and addressing pressing global health and development issues.
The announcement was made at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Dakar, where the foundation unveiled a series of new initiatives. These efforts call for greater investment in research and development (R&D) to accelerate the availability of innovative solutions and make them accessible to everyone.
Co-chair of the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates stressed the need for increased global spending on R&D in the field of health and development, urging countries to commit an additional $3 billion annually to bridge funding gaps for neglected diseases.
“The $30 million investment will fund an AI platform in Africa, providing essential support to African scientists and innovators to transform their ideas into scalable health and development solutions. This initiative aims to ensure that AI technologies are not only affordable but also accessible to those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Gates Foundation will collaborate with technical partners and governments to advance AI development for health and development while maintaining ethical and equitable practices,” Mr Gates noted.
Additionally, the foundation announced investments to expand access to a novel mRNA vaccine manufacturing platform. This platform will enable countries, including Senegal and South Africa, to develop and produce their vaccines, potentially transforming the fight against infectious diseases disproportionately affecting LMICs.
Grand Challenges, which started in 2003, focuses on addressing critical global health and development challenges by crowd-sourcing innovative solutions through open calls for proposals. The program has received support from governments, international organizations, and philanthropic partners worldwide, with investments totalling $1.6 billion across 3,800 projects in 118 countries.
The Gates Foundation and its partners have also issued new calls for proposals in various areas, including the development of equitable AI for health in LMICs, women’s health R&D and innovations in global health and development.
The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Dakar is hosted by the Global Grand Challenges network of partners and the government of Senegal, with sponsorship from Grand Challenges Canada, the United States Agency for International Development, Wellcome and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.