The letter tells about the enormous progress that has been made in various urgent topics such as reducing childhood deaths, fighting poverty, reducing malnutrition and promoting family planning. But a lot remains to be done. The ambition is to save more lives than were saved in the past. For achieving this, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is ‘’focused on building an ecosystem of partners that shares its genius to improve lives and end disease’’. You can read the annual letter at gatesnotes.com/2017-Annual-Letter.

Towards the end of the letter Bill Gates cites findings from our Glocalities survey, which was published in September 2016 in cooperation with Oxfam International and Global Citizen. The survey reveals that 99% of people around the globe underestimate the progress made in fighting poverty since 1990. In the last 20 years the number of people who are living in extreme poverty has more than halved, one of the greatest achievements in recent human history. However, most people think the opposite is true. The survey provides strategies for engaging frontrunners across the globe in the fight against extreme poverty and raising awareness about the topic. You can download and read the study that was the source of the section on optimism in the Annual Letter at glocalities.com/poverty. You can also read our blog on the background of the publication at esomarfoundation.org/market-research-helps-combat-extreme-poverty/.