Nearly 2.5 billion people live on less than $2 a day, and more than 1 billion suffer from chronic hunger. We believe that progress is possible—on a large scale and in very poor countries.

Our mission: Increase opportunities for people in developing countries to overcome hunger and poverty.

How We Work

We focus on areas with the potential for high-impact, sustainable solutions that can reach hundreds of millions of people. We work closely with our partners to support innovative approaches and expand existing ones so they reach the people who need them most.

We also support policy and advocacy efforts to accelerate progress against the world’s most acute poverty.

What We Do

	Agricultural Development Three quarters of the 1.1 billion people living on less than $1 a day live in rural areas, and most rely on agriculture for their food and income. We work to help these small farmers boost their productivity, increase their incomes, and build better lives for their families. Learn More
	Financial Services for the Poor Fewer than 10 percent of the world's poor have access to safe, affordable financial services. We are working with a wide range of public and private partners to help make microfinance—particularly savings accounts—widely accessible to poor people throughout the developing world. Learn More
	Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Water, sanitation, and hygiene are all critical to reducing the burden of water-borne diseases, which kill 1.6 million children each year. But 2.5 times as many people lack safe sanitation as clean water. We are focusing our work on sanitation to reduce the burden of disease and improve the lives of the poor. Learn More
	Special Initiatives We learn and have impact across a range of development issues to help reduce poverty and increase opportunities. Libraries Urban Development Emergency Response
	Policy and Advocacy Lasting progress against global hunger and poverty will take international attention and commitment—from all corners and across all sectors. We work to increase awareness of global development issues, identify and promote powerful solutions, and advocate for more—and more effective—investments.