Bill Gates announced a $7 billion fund Thursday for African countries to help accelerate progress in health, agriculture, gender equality and other critical areas.

The Microsoft founder said the fund would be rolled out through the Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Foundation over the next four years to support African countries.

“The big global challenges we face are persistent, but we have to remember, so are the people solving them,” Gates told students at Nairobi University during a function. “Our foundation will continue to support solutions in health, agriculture, and other critical areas -- and the systems to get them out of the labs and to the people who need them.”

During his trip to Kenya this week, Gates visited primary health care centers, leading medical and agricultural research institutes and smallholder farms to hear from Kenyan and regional partners about what programs and approaches are working, what obstacles remain and how the foundation can better support future progress, according to the foundation.

Gates told more than 500 students and thousands across Africa, who watched the event online, that Africa's young people have the talent and opportunity to accelerate progress and help solve the world's most pressing problems.

The foundation is urging global leaders to increase efforts to find solutions and strengthen systems in African countries. That includes investing in people and innovations that have the potential to save millions of lives and provide opportunities to the world's most vulnerable people.

The Kenyan presidency said Wednesday that the foundation will set up a regional office in Nairobi to “expand and enhance the Foundation's work in healthcare, agriculture and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in Kenya.” (Anadolu Agency)