Gates Foundation Unveils Initiative To Give Starving Africans Fat Suits

SEATTLE—As part of the organization’s mission to address the most pressing issues on the world’s poorest continent, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation unveiled Friday an initiative to give starving Africans fat suits. “We’ve witnessed with great sadness how 300 million Africans suffer from chronic hunger, but our new program to distribute inflatable body suits has the power to end this highly visible problem by 2030,” said Bill Gates, adding that fat suits would be made in sizes for men, women, and children to ensure universal access for all malnourished Africans. “With our fat suit program—aided by generous grants from the United States, the European Union, and several nongovernmental organizations—images of Africans appearing emaciated will be a thing of the past. All of our fat suits will be made from tear-resistant Lycra fabric and sterilized to eliminate the spread of bacteria. At the Gates Foundation, we know that the best solutions are universal ones, and we believe that wearing fat suits will be an incredibly empowering sight for all starving Africans.” Adding that he hoped to eventually allow Africans to run the initiative themselves, Gates went on to announce an $80 million donation to turn some Ethiopian farmland into a fat suit factory.