Bil Gates and Melinda: "Being an optimist isn't about knowing that life used to be worse. It's about knowing how life can get better."
SEATTLE: The co-founder of the Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, whose foundation seeks to improve people's health and help themselves get out of hunger and extreme poverty, see a world that's getting better.
In their 2018 annual letter, "The 10 toughest questions we get" issued on Tuesday, they said while most of headlines focus on the negative, they see a world that's getting better.
They cited that the number of children who die every year has been cut in half since 1990 and extreme poverty has declined by nearly half in just 20 years.
"Being an optimist isn't about knowing that life used to be worse. It's about knowing how life can get better. And that's what really fuels our optimism," they said in the letter, which is the 10th one that they have written.
"Although we see a lot of disease and poverty in our work—and many other big problems that need to be solved—we also see the best of humanity.
" We spend our time learning from scientists who are inventing cutting-edge tools to cure disease.
“We talk to dedicated government leaders who are being creative about prioritizing the health and well-being of people around the world.
"And we meet brave and brilliant individuals all over the world who are imagining new ways to transform their communities."
In this year's letter, Bill and Melinda respond to 10 tough questions they've received over the years from non-profit partners, government leaders, the general public – and supporters and critics alike.
The 10 questions in the letter touch on a variety of topics ranging from education and climate change, to politics and partnership.
To read the letter in its entirety, visit https://goo.gl/ciYpVU
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