https://www.gatesnotes.com/2018-Annual-Letter

“We are outspoken about our optimism,” say Bill and Melinda Gates in their 2018 Annual Letter. “Despite the headlines, we see a world that’s getting better,” they continue. They point out that the world is “healthier and safer than ever”, that since 1990, the number of children who die every year has been halved, largely due […]

Young women in Pakistan, especially in rural areas, have few choices when their parents don’t have the money to pay school fees to continue their education: they get married so their husbands provide for them instead. One family from Shimshal, a village in the northern mountains of Pakistan, is trying to change that by bringing […]

Currently about half of the world lives without access to reliable energy to power their homes, meaning many people either have no access to electricity or they only have access for a few hours a day. This lack of energy means they have no way to power mobile phones, computers or televisions. Importantly, it also […]

The sad state of our oceans – vast garbage patches floating in the oceans’ subtropical gyres (places where ocean currents accumulate garbage, especially plastic bottles), oil spills from boats and other sources, and other pollutants – has people and companies coming together to find solutions. Two such solutions, one in the open ocean and one […]

Food aficionados have long known that fruits and vegetables need not be thrown out just because they no longer look bright and fresh. Indeed, many food companies and chefs alike specialize in taking less than glorious produce and transforming it into something else. While most of the time these end products are edible, a company […]

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has placed its big bet for the future. The annual letter written by Bill and Melinda Gates details the bet they are making in 2015, which doubles down on the bet they made 15 years ago, in 2000, when they founded their foundation. The bet is this: “The lives of […]

The United Nations climate negotiations in Lima, Peru, ran over by two days this week due to the refusal of developing countries to accept the position of developed countries on what their contribution should be to cutting emissions and who is going to pay. But in the end, a deal, albeit one that appears weak, […]

We all have heard that laughter is the best medicine, but studies are increasingly bearing out that conclusion. “Dr. Lee Berk, an associate professor at Loma Linda University in California, has spent nearly three decades studying the ways the aftershocks of a good laugh ripple through your brain and body,” says a 19 November article on […]

Founded in 1996, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) is a women’s empowerment organization specifically dedicated to peacebuilding in communities in Africa. It fosters and supports women’s initiatives in the resolution of conflicts in Africa and the respect of women’s rights. It also strengthens women’s leadership capacity to help them restore and maintain peace in their countries. […]

Much as there is financial capital in every business, there is also natural capital. Most businesses don’t realize it, but each and every one relies on products from nature to exist, from the water consumed and electricity used onsite by employees to the products they manufacture and how the basic materials also rely on other aspects […]