“While in Ethiopia, I got the chance to learn about a program from adolescents 360 called Smart Start. In rural areas with deep-seated traditions of early marriage and early pregnancy, Smart Start is empowering adolescent girls to think differently about how many children they want to have and when they want to have them,” so remarked Melinda Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
When Melinda Gates visited Ethiopia and met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, she noted that what makes Smart Start so unique and so effective, is that it is designed by adolescent girls for adolescent girls. It starts with the things young married girls and their husbands care about healthy kids, a more prosperous future and helps them understand how family planning fits into that future.
She further stated that Smart Start helps young married couples set goals like a new ox or a new house or more savings and connects them with the family planning tools that can help achieve them. “All of these girls told me they want to be mothers and they want to be good ones. And now, they see family planning as a steppingstone to that and everything else they dream of.” She added.
On November 11th, Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, visited Ethiopia on learning trip and met with Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed and President, Sahle-Work Zewde.
As part of the visit, Melinda Gates met with Gates Foundation partners and advocates to build a deeper understanding of gender equality issues in the country. Melinda saw the work of partners helping to address systemic gender biases and create more opportunities for women and girls to prosper.
During her meeting with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Melinda Gates discussed the foundation’s continued partnership to support Ethiopia’s progress in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She reinforced the importance of ensuring investments around human capital that benefit women and girls and help to reduce inequality in Ethiopia.
While in Addis Ababa, Melinda Gates also met with President Sahle-Work Zewde to discuss the need for continued efforts to prioritize women and children for national development. They will reflect on the country’s progress and highlight the opportunity for further collaboration and partnerships to make equality a reality.
This is the third visit to Ethiopia by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s leadership this year. In March, Bill Gates addressed the African Union and met with the Prime Minister. In June, the foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Sue Desmond- Hellmann, met with President Sahle-Work Zewde to discuss the foundation’s work in Ethiopia.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a key partner in supporting development priorities in Ethiopia. Since making its first grant in the country in 2000 and opening an office in Addis Ababa in 2012, the foundation has partnered with donors, government, the private sector, and civil society to enable Ethiopians lead healthy and productive lives. The foundation works with more than 135 partners to improve agricultural productivity and ensure life-saving health and nutrition interventions reach many more Ethiopians.
It Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people, especially those with the fewest resources have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls. As co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she shapes and approves the foundation’s strategies, reviews results, and sets the organization’s overall direction. Together, Melinda and Bill meet with grantees and partners to further the foundation’s goal of improving equity in the United States and around the world.
Through her work at the foundation over the last twenty years, Melinda has seen first-hand that empowering women and girls can transform the health and prosperity of families, communities, and societies. Her work has led her to focus increasingly on gender equity as a lever for change. In 2015, Melinda founded Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company working to drive social progress for women and families in the United States. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Moment of Lift, in which she introduces readers to the inspiring women she has met during her work and travels around the world and shares her own journey to becoming an advocate for women and girls.
Melinda grew up in Dallas, Texas, as the second of four children. She received a bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics from Duke University in 1986 and an M.B.A. from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in 1987. Melinda spent the first decade of her career developing multimedia products at Microsoft, and was later appointed General Manager of Information Products, before leaving the company to focus on her family and philanthropic work.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition, November 17/2019
BY MEHARI BEYENE
