On a three-day tour to India, Bill Gates, the world’s richest man once again, told a select audience of scientists and public health professionals, "Working in [the field] of health was not my original career.”
Speaking at the headquarters of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi on Sunday evening, Gates said that the “injustices” that he and his wife Melinda witnessed in their lives, led them to focus on public health through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates had made a quick visit to the ICMR headquarters for the awards ceremony, right after de-boarding his flight from Patna to Delhi where he met chief minister Nitish Kumar. Gates said that much progress had been made in the state, especially when it came to immunisation, but vaccine coverage needed to be advanced to “95 per cent” of the state’s population.
In a brief speech at the ICMR event, Gates spoke about reducing the death of children due to poverty and “malnutrition” across the country. He commented on India’s superior work in developing vaccines for the global population and stressed on “equity in health”.
The event also saw ICMR officials sign a Declaration of Intent (DoI) with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD) of the National Institutes of Health, USA and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
The “Declaration of Intent” builds on an ongoing collaborative research and training program between India and the US, including enhancement of research capacity.
The collaboration will establish a research fellowship programme for young scientists in India and the US to expand research to improve clinical practice and benefit public health in both countries. The initial focus of this fellowship programme is intended to engage scientists in infectious diseases and immunology research, with an emphasis on diseases that affect women and children.
At the event, Gates gave away the ICMR lifetime achievement awards.
The awards were given to Dr Cyrus S.Poonawalla, Chairman and Managing Director, Serum Institute of India, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon India and Dr Prakash Baba Amte, Director, Lok Biradari Prakalp, in recognition of their efforts in “providing better health care” to people in the country and globally, through “innovative diagnostics, cost-effective life-saving tools and increasing access to healthcare at the grassroots.”
