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New Delhi: Microsoft founder Bill Gates will launch a major initiative for India’s public healthcare here Wednesday with a special focus on polio eradication, said officials at his philanthropic foundation.
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Gates will launch the initiative under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – founded by him and his wife – which believes that while polio cannot be cured at present, it can be prevented by immunising children at the right age.
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"As of October 2008, the Gates Foundation has committed approximately $9.9 billion in grants for global health, and many of these grants support work in India," the foundation said in a background note ahead of Gates’ visit.
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For polio alone, the foundation has so far committed more than $400 million worldwide to support polio eradication efforts and India, among the four countries where the disease is still endemic, is among its recipients.
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The other initiatives of the foundation include "Avahan", where $258 million has so far been committed in the first phase of the project towards India’s AIDS-control initiatives.
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This apart, $93 million has been set aside for the country’s immunisation programme and $66 million for introducing hepatitis B vaccine in 15 cities and 33 districts.
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Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by chief executive Jeff Raikes. William H. Gates Sr. and Bill and Melinda Gates are its co-chairs, while long-term associate Warren Buffett is a trustee and another major contributor.
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Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Bravo Gates; The Noble Souls
– GOD BLESS YOU –
PS: DO IT FOR OTHER COUNTRIES AS WELL
