Goalkeepers17, the event hosted by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, brought together a generation of determined thinkers, doers and givers, sharing their work and their ideas to help hit the ambitious Global Goals targets by 2030. The Foundation is launching a report this year and will publish it every year until 2030. The report consists of data related to the progress the world has made in the development arena and in ending poverty. This is because they want to accelerate progress in the fight against poverty by helping to diagnose urgent problems, identify promising solutions, measure and interpret key results, and spread best practices.

Talking about progress, between 1990 and today, the number of people living in poverty has been cut in half. 6 Million fewer people have died every year, 300 Million women now have access to contraception. “These numbers mean a lot. They represent the efforts the countries have made”, says Melinda Gates, Co-Chair at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

 As it happens, this report comes out at a time when there is more doubt than usual about the world’s commitment to development.  “People fail to see this progress. The quiet progress unfolding around us is just lost amongst the poor and tough conditions that the poor countries are facing”, says Bill Gates.

In 1990, 43% of the world's people were living on less than $1.25 a day – today it is 13.5%. In 2015, the member states of the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which together paint a picture of what we all want the world to look like in 2030. However, if we don’t reaffirm the commitment that has led to so much progress over the past generation, that world will remain out of reach.

“The Goalkeepers are bringing together world leaders to zoom in on the stories behind the data. Leaders everywhere need to take action now to put us on the path we set for ourselves just two years ago”, reiterates Bill Gates.

This report that they will publish every year tracks 18 data points included in the SDGs that they believe are fundamental to people’s health and well-being. To complement the data, they are also telling the stories behind the numbers—about the leaders, innovations, and policies that have made the difference in countries where progress has been most significant.

In the United States, Congress is currently considering how to deal with the big cuts to foreign aid proposed in the president’s budget. A similar mood of retrenchment has taken hold in other donor countries. Meanwhile, most developing countries need to do more to prioritize the welfare of their poorest citizens.

805 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat, more than 750 million people lack adequate access to clean drinking water. It's not only the leaders who need to make decisions to solve these problems. The decisions we collectively make in the next couple of years are going to have a big impact on the shape these curves take.

Of course, it’s not really about the shape of the curves. It’s about what the curves signify: whether or not millions or even billions of people will conquer disease, lift themselves out of extreme poverty, and reach their full potential. “We are investing all our resources in that fight. But that doesn’t mean every dollar spent on development has maximum impact. And that must be our goal,” says Melinda Gates.