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Bill Gates and Anbumani discuss health initiatives
FOCUS ON POLIO: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss with co-chairperson of the Gates Foundation Bill Gates prior to a Polio Round Table meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. —
NEW DELHI: The co-chairs of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates and his father William Gates, called on Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss here on Tuesday.
The senior members of the Foundation met the Minister individually as well as in a Polio Round Table meeting.
Wide-ranging issues from the health sector were discussed. Mr. Bill Gates was apprised of the strides made in key areas of polio, National Rural Health Mission, AIDS control and anti-tobacco efforts.
In the Polio Round Table, new initiatives taken by the government for complete eradication of polio were discussed. Describing the polio programme of the nation as the biggest health programme anywhere in the world, covering about 172 million children in one round, Dr. Ramadoss said the initiative had consistently accounted for more government funds in the annual budget than any other communicable disease programme.
The discussion also focussed on high-risk regions and population at risk and intensified efforts to deal with the situation. Mr. Gates appreciated the work done by India in partnership with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and expressed confidence that with additional tools to enhance current efforts, polio could be eradicated in India. The Polio Round Table was attended by senior officers of the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry and Planning Commission, senior members of the Gates Foundation, the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund and Rotary International.
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