 Hello! Much of the talk in African capitals in recent months has been to question why, in the wake of Washington’s foreign aid cuts, so many countries were still so reliant on international aid to prop up their health systems. Bill Gates — whom I spoke to this week as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Gates Foundation — pointed to countries like India and Vietnam that had “largely graduated” from such support and subsequently seen their economies benefit. He suggested this was how aid should work, ideally, and how he thinks it can in Africa too, pointing to Rwanda and Tanzania as examples of countries that “manage their primary health care very well.” But Gates stressed that the sudden cutbacks in government aid programs will have serious consequences. “We have a lot of great partners, so we’re going to have to prioritize. But anyone who says that this aid thing isn’t going to hurt, sadly, that’s not the case.” | 
