Bill Gates, noted philanthropist and creator of Microsoft have been awarded the Hilal-e-Pakistan, Pakistan’s second-highest civilian honor, for his efforts to help eradicate polio in the country.

Overview:

A lunch was held at the Pakistani premier’s residence in honor of Bill Gates, who was briefed on Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts and Covid response.

Through Gavi, the vaccine alliance, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been a major donor towards global polio eradication.

Gates also met with Asad Umar, the Minister of Planning and Development and the NCOC’s director, and Dr. Faisal Sultan, the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Health.

He was briefed on the NCOC’s function, as well as its accomplishments since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the non-pharmaceutical initiatives taken to prevent disease spread.

About GAVI

GAVI is a public-private global health collaboration that aims to improve vaccination access in low-income countries. By monetary measure, Gavi distributed more than half of total donor aid for health and the majority of donor help for immunization. GAVI is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

It is an American private foundation formed by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. It was founded in 2000 in Seattle, Washington, and as of 2020, it is the world’s second-largest charity foundation, with $49.8 billion in assets. The foundation’s objectives are to improve healthcare and reduce extreme poverty around the world, as well as to promote educational opportunities and information technology access.