Innovation is the key to unlocking a healthier, more productive world. But leaving it up to luck is reckless.

In the poorest parts of the world, the heavy burden of disease is a heavy drag on progress.

Together, the five deadliest infectious diseases kill almost 5.5 million people per year and sicken millions more, predominately in low- and middle-income countries. For many of these diseases, we lack the drugs, vaccines, diagnostics or other tools to protect people at risk – whether it’s a one-month regimen for tuberculosis or a way to keep mosquitoes from transmitting dengue fever.

It’s easy to take for granted scientific breakthroughs that have already happened: the polio vaccine, the MRI machine, antiretroviral therapy. But none of them would have been possible without years-long public and private investments in research and development (R&D). The Lancet Commission on Investing in Health estimates that a “grand convergence” in health outcomes between rich and poor countries is possible, but only if the world doubles R&D spending to $6 billion a year.

If we want the next generation of game-changing technologies, we have to make science a priority. We work with our partners to make people aware of the need for additional funding, while supporting proven approaches – public-private collaboration, product development partnerships, and building scientific capacity in Africa and other places where disease burdens are highest.