evidence: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates released a swarm of mosquitoes on an unsuspecting audience at a TED conference in 2009. [...] Gates was making the compelling point that, even if an issue like malaria doesn't directly affect you, you should still care. At that time, he noted, more money had been invested into researching hair loss drugs because, when it comes to baldness, "rich men are afflicted." [...] Since 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has made real progress in its fight against malaria. Gates wrote a blog post in 2016 highlighting the impact of their philanthropic efforts. Citing a report from The New England Journal of Medicine, he said, "The malaria death rate in sub-Saharan Africa has declined by a stunning 57 percent since 2000."