The primary mission of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is to fulfill individual, family and group needs regardless of factors such as nationality or religion. Within the foundation itself, there are four separate entities, which all essentially function in their respective fields to tackle specific issues across the world.
The first of the four parts of the foundation is what is known as the Global Development Division, which allocates all their efforts in order to help the world’s poorest people lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. The second division, which focuses on Global Health, aims to harness advances in science and technology to save lives in developing countries, in predominantly Asian, African and Latin American areas.
In terms of domestic philanthropic work, the United States Division works to improve U.S. high school and 
postsecondary education and support vulnerable children and families in Washington State. Based on the notion of collaboration across all fields, the Global Policy & Advocacy Division’s primary focus is to cultivate strategic relationships and promote policies that will help advance their work.
In a recent article published by Bill Gates in the Wall Street Journal, the co-founder and tech CEO educates the public about the how poverty has changed, with around 70% of the world’s poorest people defined as middle income. He also highlights the salient fact that some of the world’s poorest people live on less than two dollars a day, an astounding figure that many were unaware of previously.
One example that Gates illustrates in his most recent article is the disconnect between a wage increase and higher rates of poverty in several African countries. Nigeria in particular still lives in extreme poverty, even given the fact the average income is nearly double what the amount is to say Ghana. In addition, World Bank data has also confirmed that even the income factor fails to properly address issues such as literacy, life expectancy and maternal and child mortality.
Amidst all this factual evidence, Gates further emphasizes the point that both developed and developing nations need to increase creativity with regard to raising funds to support programs such as health care, education and various other essential services.