PATNA: Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, who feels that India could eliminate polio virus in next two years, has lauded the role of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in controlling the disease to a great extent in the state.
“Under your great leadership in Bihar, there is a lot of progress in health sector,” reads a letter to Kumar from Gates. The handwritten letter is dated January 20.
Gates, who visited Bihar in May last year, is expected to tour India next month when he may come to Bihar again. “I look forward to seeing you soon,” he has written to Kumar.
In the Annual Letter of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which Gates as its co-chair released earlier in January, he has talked about making a number of trips focused on polio, including additional trips to India and Nigeria. “I will (then) write a report for the foundation website,” he wrote in the Annual Letter.
The philanthropist is worried about prevalence of polio in some pockets of four countries, including India. But he is satisfied that India witnessed a record low number of polio cases in 2010 as a result of the ongoing anti-polio campaign. He, however, fears “the danger of outbreak elsewhere” as long as the pockets of prevalence exist. “It’s likely the world would see something like two lakh new cases every year – that’s two lakh children killed or crippled,” he wrote in the foundation’s Annual Letter.
Gates has written to Nitish about the new vaccines for polio which, he said, are capable to save more lives. He said his foundation is “excited to be partnering with you”.
During his trip to Bihar on May 23, Gates travelled to a few villages in Khagaria and Banka districts. The foundation then signed an MoU with the state health department for cooperation and intervention to ensure better delivery of medicare.
Read more:Â Gates pats Nitish for healthcare headway – The Times of India