World’s billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates together with his wife Melinda are optimistic that the lives of the poor will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any time in history.

According to Gate’s annual letter, the next 15 years will see major breakthroughs for most people in poor countries. They will be living longer and in better health. They will have unprecedented opportunities to get an education, eat nutritious food, and benefit from mobile banking,”

Innovation in technology, ranging from new vaccines and hardier crops among others, is what the Gates believe will aid the foreseen developments.

Fifteen years ago, Bill and his childhood friend Paul Allen bet that by starting a foundation that would back innovative work in health and education, which they did in 2000, they could help dramatically reduce inequity.

15 years, later, they say that the progress has been thrilling and the results have now pushed them to double the previous bet.

“The progress we’ve seen so far is very exciting — so exciting that we are doubling down on the bet we made 15 years ago, and picking ambitious goals for what’s possible 15 years from now,”.

The major breakthroughs will be most noticeable in health, but also in agriculture, digital banking and online education, where the Gates Foundation is planning to pour in resources.

“We’re putting our credibility, time, and money behind this bet — and asking others to join us — because we think there has never been a better time to accelerate progress and have a big impact around the world,” Gates notes read in part.

HEALTH SITUATION IN 2030 AS PREDICTED BY THE GATES

The Gates believe that in 2030, child deaths will go down and more diseases will be wiped out.

The Bill Gates Foundation is keen on finding the secret to the destruction of malaria and also a HIV vaccine by 2030.

“We won’t be able to completely eradicate malaria by 2030, but we will have all the tools we need to do so. These will include a vaccine that prevents people with malaria from spreading it to the mosquitoes that bite them, a single-dose cure that clears the parasite completely out of peoples’ bodies, and a diagnostic test that can reveal right away whether a person is infected. Early versions of all these tools are in development now. In 15 years, we’ll be poised to send malaria the way of smallpox and polio.”

“AFRICA WILL BE ABLE TO FEED ITSELF”

With seven out of ten people in sub-Saharan Africa being farmers, it’s ironic that Africa still relies on imports and food aid to feed its population and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation maintains that in the next 15 years innovations in farming will erase these “brutal ironies” enabling African farmers to increase their yields by half.

MOBILE BANKING TO GIVE THE POOR ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES

Digital banking will make it possible for the poor, who cannot access the conventional systems of banking, to enjoy financial services which will help them transform their lives.

The Gates estimate that by 2030, 2 billion people who don’t have a bank account today will be storing money and making payment with their phones.