Giving Compass' Take:

• Global Citizen highlights the nine biggest surprises that Bill and Melinda Gates have faced when it comes to development and global health initiatives. 

• The Gates Foundation aims to help global health, women empowerment, education, and many more. How can it ensure success in all areas? 

• Here are seven powerful leadership lessons from Bill and Melinda Gates. 

Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates made headlines last month as they both penned op-eds about their investments in global health — which total a cool $10 billion in the last two decades — and the need for continued global support in achieving Global Goal 3 on good health for all.

Now they’re addressing the ups and downs of global health in their annual letter. Last year’s letter highlighted the toughest questions they get asked, but this year’s letter outlines the top “things they didn’t see coming” when it came to development and global health initiatives.

  1. “Africa is the youngest continent.”
  2. “At-home DNA tests can find serial killers — and could also help prevent premature birth.”
  3. “The world will build an entire New York City every month for 40 years.”
  4. “Data can be sexist.”
  5. “You can learn a lot about processing your anger from teenage boys.”
  6. “There’s a nationalist case for globalism.”
  7. “Toilets haven’t changed in a century.”
  8. “Textbooks are becoming obsolete.”
  9. “Mobile phones are most powerful in the hands of the world’s poorest women.”

To read the full article on the nine surprises Bill & Melinda Gates have learned by Jackie Marchildon at Global Citizen