India’s progress in 5 remarkable charts

I’m back in India this week. Although I’ve spent a lot of time there over the years, I haven’t been back since before the pandemic started—and I can’t wait to see how much progress has been made in that time.?

You can read more on my blog about what I’ll be talking about on my trip. In this newsletter, though, I want to focus instead on several numbers that prove why India plays such a crucial role in the world’s fight to improve health, reduce poverty, avoid a climate disaster, and more.?

1. India’s push to vaccinate more kids is saving lives.

Childhood vaccination is a magical thing. If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve probably had the vaccine that protects you from diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis—it’s one of the basic vaccines that most people around the world get. These two charts clearly show how India’s push to vaccinate more kids has saved lives.

2. The results of India’s commitment to stopping measles are stunning.

Measles is an awful disease. Not only does it kill kids, but it weakens the ones who survive. India made a commitment to increase access to measles vaccines, and the Gates Foundation was proud to partner with them on their effort. The results have been nothing short of miraculous.

3. India made huge progress stopping one of the leading causes of death for children.

This chart is at the heart of why Melinda and I created the Gates Foundation more than two decades ago. Kids in India and around the world were dying of diarrhea, and half of those deaths were caused by a virus the world had a vaccine for. A lot of this decline in deaths is due to that vaccine—the rotavirus vaccine—reaching more kids. Now, new vaccines are on the way for other diseases like cholera and typhoid.?

4. The world has a lot to learn from India on how to do this.

A lot of people take being able to have a bank account for granted. But in 2011, just a little more than a third of people in India had a safe and secure place to save money. Now, thanks to great government work and partnership with our foundation and others, more than three-quarters of the country have had a bank account.?

5. India made giving birth safer for moms.

If you want to improve the chances of a mother surviving childbirth, the key is to have a skilled birth attendant. India has more than doubled the number of mothers who give birth under the supervision of medical personnel, and at the same time, we’ve seen the number of those who die during childbirth drop by over half. That is quite phenomenal, and we’ve got new tools coming along to bring this down even more.?

I can’t wait to see firsthand the work being done by innovators and entrepreneurs to enable all of this progress next week. It’s going to be a great trip. Stay tuned for more updates about my visit to India!