Gates acknowledged the positive progress and reiterated the foundation’s continued support to Pakistan for ensuring that no child is at risk of paralysis due to poliovirus…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, discussing public health and social sector programmes supported by the foundation in Pakistan, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The prime minister underscored that Pakistan deeply values its cooperation with the Gates foundation in polio eradication and improving immunisation, nutrition and financial inclusion services in the country, the office said in a statement on Tuesday night.
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further solidifying its fruitful partnership with the foundation in all the ongoing areas of work, Xinhua news agency reported.
Pakistan has maintained progress toward polio eradication and appreciates the assistance provided by the Gates foundation in that regard, Sharif added.
Gates acknowledged the positive progress and reiterated the foundation’s continued support to Pakistan for ensuring that no child is at risk of paralysis due to poliovirus, the statement said.
The prime minister and Gates also exchanged views on Pakistan’s Covid vaccination drive, it added
Al Ansari Exchange, Gates Foundation sign $10m deal
Al Ansari Exchange, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have pledged US$10 million through the foundation’s matching programme to support humanitarian healthcare programmes in the Middle East and Africa region…reports Asian Lite News
Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE-based foreign exchange and worldwide money transfer company, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have pledged US$10 million through the foundation’s matching programme to support humanitarian healthcare programmes in the Middle East and Africa region.
The announcement came during a meeting held in Dubai between Bill Gates, the co-chair of the Gates Foundation, and Mohamed Ali Al Ansari, chairman of Al Ansari Exchange, to discuss the importance of supporting global efforts to improve healthcare and the important role philanthropists play in powering such programmes in different parts of the world.
Al Ansari Exchange, Gates Foundation sign $10m deal
The focus of this pledge will be to reduce inequities in health by developing new tools and strategies to reduce the burden of neglected tropical diseases, which affect more than 1.7 billion of the world’s population residing in low-income communities in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Funding will be directed toward the Reaching the Last Mile Fund, a multi-donor initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and managed by The END Fund. The pledge will also support ongoing global efforts to eradicate polio. By supporting high-impact programmes with strong track records for reaching some of the world’s hardest-to-reach populations, this collaboration can help millions of people live healthier lives and have higher prospects of moving out of poverty.
“It’s excellent to see this partnership come to fruition with Al Ansari Exchange. Together, we are committed to reducing inequities in healthcare. As we push toward the elimination of neglected tropical diseases and the eradication of polio, I’m pleased to renew our nearly decade-long collaboration with Al Ansari Exchange,” said Bill Gates.
For his part, Al Ansari commented, “We always seek to establish strong, long-term partnerships with foundations and institutes, as we understand that consistency in strategy and direction is key to seeing a positive impact on communities in need. We are delighted to have the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as one of our global partners in this mission, and we will continue side-by-side in the efforts to combat poverty, disease and inequality around the world.”
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Thursday…reports Asian Lite News
Sheikh Mohamed discussed with Gates cooperation in combating diseases. They also reviewed the outcomes of joint cooperation and future initiatives after a decade of charitable collaboration.
Sheikh Mohamed lauded the levels of cooperation between the two sides and the results achieved, emanating from shared desire to help provide decent and healthy living standards to all people.
MBZ receives Bill Gates
He also stressed the importance of rallying efforts to eliminate preventable communicable diseases and to improve living conditions in the world’s poorest communities.
Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, thanked Sheikh Mohamed for his global humanitarian initiatives and his commitment as key partner of the Foundation in its efforts to eliminate diseases.
He referred to the important support provided by the UAE, which contributed to improving living standards in many nations through better healthcare services and elimination of diseases.
Expo 2020
Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, received Bill Gates at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Bill Gates’ visit is significant, as Expo 2020 Dubai and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation joined hands to support grassroots innovators with the ambition and potential to improve the lives of people across a variety of complex, fragile or marginalised humanitarian settings.
Bill Gates visits Expo 2020 Dubai
Accompanied by Reem Al Hashemy, Gates toured the key projects of Expo Live, the global innovation and partnership programme that supports innovators who develop extraordinary low-cost solutions.
During the tour, Gates was briefed on the ‘Ideabatic’, a low-cost innovation developed by Kitty Liao of the UK, keeping vaccines and life-saving medicines fresh during long journeys to remote rural areas.
He was also impressed by ‘Desert Control’, a new technology developed by Atle Idland of Norway, to help create an agricultural revolution for arid regions. The invention uses Liquid NonoClay (LNC), a technology that converts poor soil into fertile land. It works more quickly and uses less water than conventional agricultural methods.
After that, Gates toured the Sustainability Pavilion, which highlights technologies that consume zero energy. Speaking to Expo TV, Gates urged the world to speed up the implementation of its commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, with the deadline just eight years away.
He also said that the world was going through a difficult stage in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the success achieved, and called for more efforts for a fair distribution of vaccines.
The cut, which involves the country’s foreign aid budget falling from 0.7 percent of national income to 0.5 percent, is set to create a shortfall of almost $6 billion…reports Asian Lite News
High-profile global philanthropists, including Bill Gates, have pledged to provide almost $140 million to make up for losses created by the UK government’s cut to foreign aid.
The cut, which involves the country’s foreign aid budget falling from 0.7 percent of national income to 0.5 percent, is set to create a shortfall of almost $6 billion, leaving vulnerable countries such as Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Libya and Somalia at risk of malnutrition, disease and medical crises.
The group of philanthropists, the Sunday Times reported, “did not want to see” medicines going to waste as a result of health projects being forced to close due to the cut.
It includes the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the ELMA Foundation and the Open Society Foundations.
The organizations will target specific health projects and make up the shortfall in their funding.
Kate Hampton, CEO of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, said: “These life-saving treatments are cost-effective investments. If they go unfunded this year, British taxpayer generosity will be wasted as clinics are closed and essential drugs expire and are thrown away.”
Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, said he is still praying for the government to abandon the cut. “These diseases cause unimaginable suffering and entirely preventable deaths,” he added.
“This emergency funding is welcome and desperately needed, but I continue to pray for the restoration of our promise to those living in extreme poverty around the world, which was to love them as our neighbor through our commitment to the 0.7 percent aid spending target.”
Shadow International Development Secretary Preet Kaur Gill said philanthropists’ move to step in has “embarrassed the UK.”
She added: “This is a shameful moment for this Conservative government. As low-income countries continue to battle against the pandemic, this contribution to try and plug some of the gap left by the government’s slashing of life-saving paid programs is welcome, but it will only be able to prevent the very worst of the damage caused.
“The government’s decision to cut the aid budget, against the wishes of Parliament, has already cost lives, and they must reverse it or put it to a vote as soon as possible.”
Aid services warned last month that the UK cut had left 70,000 people without health services and 100,000 without water in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee settlement.
In April, following an 85 percent cut in its funding, the UN Population Fund said the missing money would have helped prevent about 250,000 child and maternal deaths and 14.6 million unintended pregnancies in some of the world’s most impoverished countries.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has attributed the cut to high levels of public borrowing and growing national debt as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
A spokesperson said: “The UK will spend billions to improve global health, fight poverty and tackle climate change this year — making us one of the biggest aid donors in the G7.
“We have always been clear that the government will return to spending 0.7 percent of national income on international development as soon as the fiscal situation allows.”
The mega-billionairecouple have three children and jointly run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation…reports Asian Lite News
The mega-billionaire couple Bill and Melinda Gates, who have emerged as a philanthropy powerhouse with a foundation named after themselves, are divorcing because their 27-year marriage has “irretrievably broken”.
According to TMZ, a media outlet that is up on celebrity affairs, Melinda Gates filed for the divorce asserting that their marriage was “irretrievably broken”.
TMZ, which said it had seen the filings in a Seattle court, the couple, who jointly run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, does not have a pre-nuptial agreement on splitting their wealth that many ultra-wealthy couples make to lessen the likelihood of disputes should they break up.
But according to People magazine, they will have a separation agreement to divide their wealth.
Bill and Melinda Gates(Wikipedia)
Melinda Gates filed for a temporary order that would prevent either of them from disposing property or making changes to insurance policies unless they agreed in writing or court ordered it, the magazine reported.
She is not asking for any payment of spousal support, it added.
Since their three children, son Rory John, 21, and daughters Phoebe Adele, 18, and Jennifer Katharine, 25, are all adults, they will not have the headache of child custody arrangements.
Bill, who is one of the richest people in the world, has often emphasized in interviews that his children should only inherit a small part of his wealth.
The financial magazine Forbes has estimated he is worth more than $100 billion.
— Melinda French Gates (@melindagates) May 3, 2021
Earlier on Monday, a joint statement posted on Twitter by the Microsoft founder said: “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.
“Over the last 27 years we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.
“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundations, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
According to reports, Melinda Gates was an employee of Microsoft where she met Bill Gates.
They first met for a dinner in 1987 and later began dating leading to their marriage on New Year’s Day in 1994.
However, there was another woman lurking in Bill Gates’s life, according to the reports.
He had an unusual arrangement with his wife that allowed him while they were married to spend a long weekend with his former girlfriend Ann Winblad every year, according to Time magazine.
Gates and Winblad, who was five years his senior, had broken off in 1987 because she was ready for marriage, but he wasn’t, according to the magazine. But they stayed in touch.
Speaking to the magazine for a 1997 article, he said, “When I was off on my own thinking about marrying Melinda, I called Ann and asked for her approval.”
Bill and Melinda Gates are the second ultra-rich couple to split up in the US.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott divorced in 2019.
