Bill Gates and Jon Batiste discuss the fight against hunger as report highlights global child malnutrition crisis

More than 400 million children worldwide do not receive the nutrients they need to grow and thrive, according to the The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Annual Goalkeeper Report for 2024.

“There is a lot of distraction from helping the poorest countries, but it’s important to think about the children there. 5% still die before age five,” Bill Gates, co-chairman and co-founder of the foundation, told “CBS Mornings” on Monday. “Even of the children who survive, 40% grow up without proper nutrition, so their brains and bodies never develop.”

The 2024 report, released on September 17, focuses on child malnutrition and highlights concrete actions that can save lives:

• Increase milk production by two to three times in low-income countries
• Add nutrients to staple foods
• Expand access to prenatal vitamins

According to the Gates Foundation website, nearly 500,000 lives could be saved by 2040 if low- and middle-income countries introduced “multiple micronutrient supplements, the world’s most comprehensive prenatal vitamins.”

“That is why we are now trying to ensure that every pregnant woman in Africa, where she does not get enough of these vitamins through her diet, has access to these resources,” the philanthropist said.

Another factor affecting child malnutrition, according to the report, is climate change. It explains that between 2024 and 2050, “climate change will result in 40 million additional children suffering from stunting and 28 million additional children becoming wasted.”

“I think one reason that might motivate people to help is the fact that rich countries created the problem of climate change, but most of the victims of climate change will be poor countries near the equator, including Nigeria,” Gates said.

Jon Batiste joins forces with Gates

Award-winning musician Jon Batiste recently traveled to Nigeria, where he and Gates met with people working to end hunger.

“We need more love in the world and I believe that in this next phase of my life and creativity, making music and art, I need to use music to make us the best version of humanity that we can be,” he said. “There is too much in the world for people to be denied basic human rights. You’re talking about food, water, healthcare.”

Batiste also recorded music while in Nigeria and said it was in those moments that he realized we are all connected.

“We often underestimate the power of the arts, culture and music in solving global problems. That’s the beauty of having this opportunity to work together and be able to solve some things,” he said.

Progress in the fight against hunger

Gates said progress has been made, but there is still much work to be done.

“At the turn of the century, over 10 million children under the age of five died, and before the pandemic we halved that number,” he said.

Since then there has been a plateau.

“If we remember the hardship and think about the children in Africa that we went there and we actually visited them. We saw a lot of malnourished children, then we will get that incredible improvement again,” Gates said.

For Batiste it is a learning journey.

“I’m trying to figure out what is there that we can all get behind without it dividing us. What is there that we can all get behind in the world and what common problems can we solve… and then how do you motivate people to show empathy and rise to the challenge?”

The Goalkeepers 2024 event will take place on September 23 in New York City. Batiste is one of the performers at the event.