Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has praised Bihar  for eradicating Polio . No new cases of polio being reported from the state in the last 16 months.
In a letter addressed to CM Nitish Kumar, Foundation Chairman Bill Gates said, “It is truly a pleasure to congratulate you that in the last 16 months not a wild polio virus case has been reported in Bihar.”
“Your personal leadership has been extraordinary and your administration deserves special credit for this accomplishment. We hope your example inspires other governments around the world to strive for similar success in this truly global effort,” he added.
The last polio case was reported in Bihar in September, 2010. Incidentally, the WHO had on February 25 struck India’s name off the list of polio endemic countries as not a single polio case was reported in the country for over a year.
Gates further wrote, “When I first visited Bihar in 2010, I was struck by the sheer scale of effort and your administration’s keen ability to work synergistically with the WHO, Unicef, Rotary International and the local polio partners in some of the remotest and high-risk regions in Bihar.” Even activities in the Kosi region, which undoubtedly present some of the most challenging conditions faced by the global polio programme, were robust, he added.
gates reinforced the Foundation’s commitment to broaden the partnership with Bihar to improve maternal and child health as he said, “The Bihar programme is a priority for our Foundation, and we look forward to continue our efforts to make progress together.”