Defining our role

While diversifying and strengthening our partnerships is one important step to increasing our impact, we also need to sharpen our view as to where and how we can add the most value. What is the distinctive role of philanthropic capital compared to private or public capital in addressing challenges like health and education?

When I took on the role of chief strategy officer in 2016, this was the core question Bill and Melinda wanted me to consider. To answer it, we developed a new strategy framework that set out how – relative to government – we can move more quickly and take more risks in helping develop evidence-based approaches that can then be deployed at scale. Similarly, it outlined ways we can better harness the innovation and delivery expertise in the private sector to help address the needs of the poorest.

In practice our role is different depending on where we might have comparative advantages. Our internal strategy unit works with each of our program teams to map out the external partner landscape, existing expertise, and key areas of need and opportunity to develop customized strategies that are subject to rigorous annual review.

The way we have sought to respond to the COVID crisis is a good example. The more than $2 billion we have committed represents only a tiny fraction of what has been pledged by governments and the private sector. Our aim is to be complementary and additive wherever possible. Above all, we have focused our resources on making sure support reaches marginalized communities as quickly and effectively as possible.

...Aware that only two African countries had the tools to test for the disease at the time, we made the first of several COVID-related grants to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to boost capacity across the continent.

A key asset has been our ability to leverage our deep knowledge and extensive partnerships in research and development from our work in other infectious diseases like HIV, malaria, polio, and TB. We funded projects supporting the development of new diagnostic tools, treatments, and vaccines while using equity capital and financial guarantees to incentivize at-risk manufacturing at scale ahead of regulatory approval.

We drew on existing investments in cutting-edge disease modeling to help inform decision-making by policymakers. We co-founded and helped fund COVAX to provide global equitable access to COVID vaccines. At the same time, we provided technical and financial support to regional efforts, including African Union-led vaccine and medical supplies purchasing programs and the genomic sequencing networks in Southern Africa that detected both the Beta and Omicron variants. We supported a wide range of governmental partners from Nigeria to Bangladesh in efforts such as providing oxygen to ill patients and combating vaccine hesitancy.

In each case, our financial resources were supplemented by direct technical and strategic advice and partnership via our employees. Now more than 1,700 strong and recruited from government, private industry, multilateral agencies, academia, and many other areas, our people bring both a deep knowledge and a wide set of personal and professional relationships. This has allowed us to be much more systematic in sharing expertise with partners who ultimately make and implement decisions.

COVID has had devastating direct and indirect impacts on the communities we are most focused on, and it will take many years for them to recover. Yet there are silver linings. We think we have the potential to dramatically accelerate impact in some areas by using tools that have been developed during the pandemic, from linked digital diagnostic tests to low-cost drug manufacturing techniques. Most notably, mRNA vaccines – a technology we first invested in five years ago – have the potential to transform the way we prevent other diseases like HIV and malaria.