ISLAMABAD, Apr 5 (APP): Co-chairman of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates Tuesday wrote a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi wherein he lauded the latter’s high-level commitment to protecting the health and well-being of every child in Pakistan.
Bill Gates, also a co-founder of Microsoft, an American businessman and philanthropist, particularly spoke high about the work to secure a polio-free future for generations of children to come.
Thanking the president for a warm welcome on his first visit to Pakistan on February 17, this year, he said it was an honor to receive the Hilal-e-Pakistan national award, in recognition of his meritorious services to the people of Pakistan, particularly for the eradication of polio.
“Pakistan has made remarkable progress in the fight against wild poliovirus, with no cases for over a year—although circulation of the disease has persisted in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he remarked.
Bill Gates viewed that the president’s continued engagement on polio would go a long way to accelerating Pakistan’s continued progress.
He expressed his pleasure in discussing other challenges of vital importance, particularly tackling stunting and malnutrition, access to family planning services and commodities, and effective targeting of social protection programs such as Ehsaas.
“Mr. President, I look forward to a deepening partnership between the Government of Pakistan and our foundation to tackle these and other issues of shared interest. I hope we can speak again soon,” Bill Gates concluded.
