American Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (born as William Henry Gates III) paid a three-day visit to India from November 16-18, 2019 to review the work of his foundation in the country. The visit in detail are as follows,
Health ministry signed MoC with Gates Foundation for support in innovation:
On November 18, 2019 Mr. Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation(MoC) with the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare(MoH&FW) Dr. Harsh Vardhan. The MoC was on support in innovation for performance management in the health sector.
The MoC was signed by Mr. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary (International Health) from MoHFW and Mr. Hari Menon, Director of India Country Office of BMGF.
Key Points:
i.Support under MoC: The BMGF will provide technical, management and program design assistance to the health ministry with the support from other partners. The MoC will have special focus on innovation in enhancing performance management.
ICMR signed DoI with US institution & BMGF for collaboration in healthcare research in New Delhi:
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) signed a Declaration of Intent (DoI) with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD) of the National Institutes of Health(NIH), United States of America(USA) and with BMGF for collaborative research and training programme between India and the US. The DoI was exchanged in presence of US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Ian Juster and Bill Gates in New Delhi.
Key Points:
i.Collaboration under DoI: As part of the collaboration, research programme will be conducted for young scientists in India and US for research expansion and improve advancement in discovery in both the countries. Initially scientists will be engaged in research on infectious disease.
ICMR lifetime achievement awards:
During the event, which also marked 108th foundation day of the ICMR, Bill Gates presented ICMR lifetime achievement awards for outstanding achievement in the field of healthcare. 3 persons were honoured with the award for their efforts in providing health care to people nationally and internationally through cost effective lifesaving tools etc. They were as follows,
- Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla– Chairman and Managing Director(MD) of Serum Institute of India.
- Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw– Chairman and Managing Director(MD) of biopharmaceutical company Biocon India
- Dr Prakash Baba Amte– Director of Lok Biradari Prakalp(LBP).
Meet with PM Modi:
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met Mr. Bill Gates on his 3-day visit to India. They held discussions on reforming/improving the health sector. Bill Gates also reinforced his foundation’s commitment to support India in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) with special focus on health, nutrition, sanitation and agriculture.
About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation(BMGF):
Fact- The BMGF is reported to be the largest private foundation in the world.The primary goals of the foundation are, globally, to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty.
Formation- 2000.
Headquarters- Seattle, Washington, United States.
