The discovery of stem rust Ug99 in East Africa in 1998 threatened to wipe out over 80% of the world’s wheat. Flat funding and decades of complacency meant that wheat stem rust knowledge was held by too few scientists, with inadequate breeding programs and training pipelines to address the issue. Realizing that smallholder wheat farmers globally were at risk, Norman Borlaug rallied world leaders to support wheat rust research all over the world. By establishing the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) in 2005 to meet the threat head-on, the Nobel Laureate was instrumental in launching the Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat (DRRW) project (2008-2016), followed by the Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat (DGGW) project (2016-2020). Both projects are supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK aid and national agricultural institutes in partner countries. Starting in 2008 with the DRRW, the BGRI has coordinated the global effort to fight Ug99 and related races, increasing capacity in national agricultural research institutes, building a global wheat research community, and delivering more than 170 improved varieties to wheat farmers. Scientists on the projects have developed surveillance networks, screening nurseries, knowledge-based platforms to track pathogens and identify and test underutilized rust resistant genes, bred new high-yielding rust resistant wheat varieties using phenotypic and genomic selection, multiplied seed, managed data, and improved the talent pipeline by training new wheat scientists many of whom are women. Expanding on the successes of the DRRW, scientists in the DGGW are using modern tools of comparative genomics and big data to develop and deploy wheat for farmers that incorporates climate resilience and multiple disease resistance — 21stcentury wheat that is resistant to abiotic and biotic stresses. This poster lays out the impact and successes of the BGRI since 2008.