Effective partnerships are crucial to the foundation’s work. Philanthropy alone cannot prevent or cure malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. Philanthropy alone cannot raise graduation rates in the United States and help the poorest people lift their families out of poverty. Solving these immense, complex problems will take unprecedented collaboration between business, government, philanthropy, and ordinary people.

In all three of our program areas, partnerships are inextricably linked to our strategies. A partner may be another foundation, a global pharmaceutical company, a government in the developing world, a local nonprofit organization, or a group of farmers trying out a new kind of seed.

Here are some examples of our partnerships:

• Botswana and Merck & Co. — We’re collaborating with the government of Botswana and the pharmaceutical company Merck on a partnership to slow the transmission of HIV and minimize the impact of the AIDS epidemic throughout the country. The partnership supports Botswana’s national AIDS program, which is making important progress: The number of people receiving HIV treatment increased from approximately 3,000 at the end of 2002 to 80,000 today.
  
  
• New York City — We’re working closely with civic leaders, the New York City (NYC) Department of Education, and more than 20 intermediary organizations and school developers to support high school reform. Since 2001, the NYC Department of Education has opened 176 new schools, many replacing the lowest-performing high schools in the city. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein have played key roles in making a public case for reform.
  
  
• The Rockefeller Foundation — In 2006, we teamed up with the Rockefeller Foundation to launch the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, building on the Rockefeller Foundation’s successful efforts in Asia and Latin America, which started in the 1940s. The first joint investment of $150 million is supporting a broad effort to improve the availability and variety of seeds that can produce higher yields in the often harsh conditions of Sub-Saharan Africa.
  
  
• The GAVI Alliance — We support a unique public-private partnership that brings together governments, vaccine companies, U.N. agencies, and others to prevent needless deaths in the world’s poorest countries by increasing access to vaccines and speeding the introduction of new vaccines. Since its inception in 2000, the partnership has saved an estimated 2.3 million lives.
  
  
• The Broad Foundation — In 2007, we launched an effort with the Broad Foundation called Strong American Schools, which aims to motivate Americans to make education a priority in the 2008 elections and beyond. The nonpartisan effort is focused on increasing support for strong standards, effective teachers in every classroom, and more time and support in school.
  
  
• The Chilean Government — We’re working with the government of Chile to increase access to computers and the Internet through the country’s public libraries. The BiblioRedes: Abre tu Mundo (Open Your World) project began with a $9.2 million grant and grew into a $20 million initiative with resources from government and other sources. More than 200,000 Chileans have received computer training at their libraries. In 2006, BiblioRedes became an established government program; its budget is entirely financed with government funds. BiblioRedes also receives funding from private institutions and enterprises to carry out specific projects.
  
  
• The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) — This alliance of public and private sector partners was launched to help developing countries implement food-fortification programs that can eliminate vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Partners include foundations, the United Nations, developing country governments, private sector companies, NGOs, and academic institutions. Food-fortification programs can help reduce maternal deaths and decrease child mortality.