Say what you will about Bill Gates. He has made a ton of money many will argue improperly and perhaps illegally, but we all benefit from the PC revolution. Now Bill is involved in one of the largest philanthropic ventures in history. Public health in developing countries will absorb gobs of cash.
Will it be successful? Certainly it will positively affect millions of lives and relieve some pain and suffering...a good thing from a humanitarian perspective. But will this be sufficient for these people to overcome the societal, cultural, tribal and ethnic barriers that prevent growth and nation building, particularly in Africa?
Reading the Malawi Starvation piece, I wonder what it will take to modernize these societies. What is the proper way to help? Preventing or alleviating traditional disease when Aids, famine and starvation lurk all seems a hopeless task.
Nevertheless, congratulations Mr. Gates for doing the best you can with your billions!
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"Dr. Tore Godal, executive secretary of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, a major Gates beneficiary, said it had delivered more than 180 million doses of vaccines since 2000, thus saving more than 100,000 lives. Mr. Gates figures that his philanthropy will have touched more than a million lives by the end of the decade, and his goal is to reach tens of millions more.
"Bill Gates is going to be remembered more for what he did for international public health than what he did for the world of computers," predicted Richard T. Mahoney, a professor at Arizona State University who has wide experience dealing with health issues in poor countries.
Those who think of Mr. Gates as a ruthless billionaire monopolist, the man who was so testy and sarcastic with government prosecutors during the Microsoft antitrust trial, may find it hard to reconcile that image with one of a humorously self-deprecating philanthropist."
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