In his 2016 year-in-review blog, Bill Gates names University of Washington President Dr. Ana Mari Cauce as one of his 'favorite fanatics', for imagining and realizing the Population Health Initiative and for her dedication to improving the lives and health of all people.
There’s an African proverb often cited at our foundation: “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” That was the vision behind Dr. Ana Mari Cauce’s incredible effort at the University of Washington this year to unite researchers and resources from the university and beyond to help improve the health and well-being of people around the world. Dr. Cauce, the president of the University of Washington, saw the need to help the university’s medical school, school of public health, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, environmental scientists, and dozens of other partners to collaborate together more effectively around common health-related goals. The effort, called the Population Health Initiative, has incredible potential to unlock the power of health research and data for the benefit of all. “Being truly healthy means far more than simply being free from ailments and afflictions. When we assess health, we must also take into account the many other factors that affect well-being—poverty, discrimination, climate change and violence, to name just a few,” Dr. Cauce said during her announcement of the initiative. In October, our foundation awarded a $210 million grant to the university to fund the construction of a new building to house the Initiative and help foster greater collaboration. I’m eager to see what this visionary effort will mean for improving health worldwide.