In late 2014, the Gates Foundation made a bold prediction in its Annual Letter: "By 2035," the letter stated, "there will be almost no poor countries left in the world."
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Trump could threaten years of progress in eliminating poverty around the world
The Gates Foundation predicted in 2014 that there would be almost no poor countries by 2035, but the Trump administration could derail those efforts.
A boy receives polio vaccine drops at a clinic in Kiev, Ukraine.
Bill Gates, the letter's author, noted this meant "poor" in the way the World Bank defines it, which is a daily budget of less than $1.90. Gates even offered a slew of statistics to back up his forecast.
Less than three years later, the Gates Foundation has doubts about whether the target is still accurate, given the Trump administration's proposed budget cuts and general lack of attention to global health goals.
Rob Nabors, the Gates Foundation's director of US policy, advocacy, and communications, says the idea that falling child mortality rates and polio cases could start climbing again "keeps him up at night."
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