Bill Gates gets a lot of fully justifiable grief for his companies’ business practices, but not enough credit for his philanthropic giving. His family’s foundation has given $750 million for vaccination programs in the undeveloped world.
Yahoo! News – Gates foundation injects 750 million dollars for infant vaccination
The foundation run by American computer software multi-billionaire Bill Gates is to donate 750 million dollars (575 million euros) over 10 years for worldwide infant vaccination.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said the money would go to the Geneva-based Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (GAVI), a partner of the World Health Organisation.
“In just five years, GAVIs efforts have saved hundreds of thousands of childrens lives, and its work in the coming years will save millions more,” said Bill Gates, founder and president of the software giant Microsoft.
“GAVI will use the funds announced today to support national immunization programs in 72 of the worlds poorest countries,” he said in a statement. “Supporting childrens immunization is undoubtedly the best investment weve ever made.”
I’m completely impressed with this kind of giving. He could use his money to build art galleries and stuff them with paintings only a sliver of the world cares about, making sure his name is famous forever.
Instead, he’s giving money away, through a multinational intermediary group, to vaccinate kids that won’t get to use a computer for years, if they live that long. Those kids won’t know who paid for their vaccines, and their parents won’t care, they’ll just be glad to have healthy, immunized kids.
Good for Bill and Melinda Gates.
I agree he doesn’t get enought positive publicity. I love your blog and your message. As a PT, I try to educate anyone that wades through my blog about patient care and PT in general. Come see me sometime and maybe we can link.
PS I love Fort Worth.
No doubt the anti-vaccination kooks will reward Gates for his efforts with a thorough lambasting.
There’s a precedent for this sort of thing; John D. Rockefeller ‘s donations were instrumental in the eradication of hookworm in the South in the US.