Bill Gates, concerned about the "significant suffering" resulting from global problems, including the new coronavirus pandemic, announced Wednesday that he will give $20 billion to his foundation so it can increase annual spending.

The donation, combined with the $3.1 billion given by Berkshire Hathaway chairman and longtime philanthropic organization board member Warren Buffet, brings the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's funding to about $70 billion.

This amount makes the Foundation one of the largest in the world, if not the largest, depending on the daily fluctuation of the stock on the exchange.

In a text published on the Foundation's website and quoted by Lusa, Bill Gates said he hoped that "others in situations of great wealth and privilege will move forward at this time as well.

The Gates Foundation plans to raise its annual budget by 50%, by reference to pre-pandemic levels, to about nine billion by 2026.

The goal is to improve education, reduce poverty, and get back on the path of ending preventable diseases and achieving gender equality, progress on which has been halted in recent years.

According to the United Nations Development Program, 71 million people have fallen into poverty because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, largely because of the food and energy price increases that followed.

The impact was greatest in the Balkans, the Caspian Sea region, and Africa south of the Sahara.

The World Food Program reported that the number of people in extreme hunger is 345 million, 25% higher than before the Russian attack on Ukraine.

In his text, Bill Gates pointed out that political polarization in the US makes it difficult to combat global crises.

Commenting on the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights, Gates said this was "a major setback for gender equality, for women's health, and for human progress, in general."

He also pointed out that "the potential for further regression is frightening" as it will "put lives at risk, of women, people of color, and whoever else lives on the margins" of society.