Latin American universities: Unloved by the Gates Foundation?
By Carlos Gaio
One of the more curious aspects of Gates Foundation university giving is the question of why do Latin American universities receive so little, compared to other parts of the world.
According to our analysis of the Gates Foundation university giving between 2014-2018 Latin America is – by some margin – the region least supported. We identified 17 universities in 5 Latin American countries that received funding – but $4m over the five years, it amounts to 0.07% of all giving to universities globally. Looked at a different way, if the entire sum of funding to Latin American universities was taken as one institution, it would rank 143 out of the 396 universities in the Gates league table of giving.
It is difficult to draw too many conclusions from the data that we extracted from the Gates Foundation tax returns, but we can make the following observations:
The median average donation to a Latin America university is $100,000 – the lowest of all regional averages. Giving to Latin American universities is on the rise. In 2014 and 2015, giving totalled around $400,000, shared between 2-3 universities. By 2018, giving had jumped to 11 universities sharing around $1.7m.
Brazil is the biggest market benefitting from Gates Foundation funding. 12 Brazilian institutions shared $2.7m in funding over the past five years, 68% of all giving to Latin American universities.
Family planning research is a significant focus of Latin American giving, notably through a number of significant grants to the Universidade Federal de Pelotas in Brazil, the biggest recipient of Gates Foundation funding in the region. Malaria-related research is also significant
The future for Gates Foundation university funding in Latin America appears uncertain. Looking at the Gates Foundation awards database we have seen few reported grants in 2019 and in 2020 to Latin American universities. However, we know from our research the awards database doesn’t necessarily reflect the entire picture of giving by the Gates Foundation.