Melinda Gates Children Quotations

Having children made us look differently at all these things that we take for granted, like taking your child to get a vaccine against measles or polio.

It is still just unbelievable to us that diarrhea is one of the leading causes of child deaths in the world.

You can have the best vaccines for a woman or her child, but if you can't get her to come and get them then they won't work.

I think the Americans need to understand that a lot of times the children are bored in school, and that is why they are not staying in.

People are respectful when we're out with the children on a normal evening, and it couldn't be a better place to live for those reasons.

The biggest killers of children around the world are two things: diarrhea and pneumonia. When you think about it, in the United States, kids don't die of diarrhea anymore, but it's a huge problem in the developing world.

That's universal - we all want to bring every good thing to our children. But what's not universal is our ability to provide every good thing.

Vaccines are a miracle cure. Eight out of 10 children are getting vaccines.

I'm happy we have three healthy children and we'll stay with three healthy children.

As a parent, the responsible thing to do - if you love your child - is to vaccinate your child.

If we're going to make progress on this issue [of contraception], we have to be really clear about what our agenda is. We're not talking about abortion. We're not talking about population control. What I'm talking about is giving women the power to save their lives, to save their children's lives and to give their families the best possible future.

Despite the debunking, you have a small group in the last five years that hasn't wanted to vaccinate their children, for instance, for measles. Then, all of sudden, we got an outbreak of measles and kids were starting to die from measles.

Our desire to bring every good thing to our children is a force for good throughout the world. It’s what propels societies forward.

The biggest pieces of work that we do are vaccines, because those save lives, and also family planning. Because if a woman can space the births of her children, it changes everything for her health and her child's health.

If we don't empower women, we don't allow them to unlock the potential of themselves and their children.

The world is full of what seem like intractable problems. Often we let that paralyze us. Instead, let is spur you to action. There are some people in the world that we can't help, but there are so many more that we can. So when you see a mother and her children suffering in another part of the world, don't look away. Look right at them. Let them break your heart, then let your empathy and your talents help you make a difference in the lives of others. Whether you volunteer every week or just a few times a year, your time and unique skills are invaluable.