Bill Gates hails Pakistan’s efforts against polio, commits support

ISLAMABAD: Tech billionaire Bill Gates met with Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif at PM House in Islamabad, here on Monday.

Gates and PM Shehbaz discussed shared goals of healthcare and financial inclusion in a key meeting.

Gates Foundation Chairman Bill Gates visited Pakistan on the invitation of PM Shehbaz during the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Riyadh earlier this year.

In meeting, the Prime Minister briefed the former Microsoft CEO on the significant progress Pakistan is making in digital financial services, economic stability, increasing access to healthcare, climate change adaptation and polio eradication. I told

The Prime Minister appreciated the important contribution of Gates Foundation in making Pakistan’s economy digital. He emphasized that promoting a digitized government ecosystem would increase revenue generation, improve governance and increase funding for public welfare initiatives.

PM Shehbaz highlighted the shared goals between the Government of Pakistan and the Gates Foundation, such as closing the gender gap, improving access to healthcare, enhancing food security, climate change adaptation and financial inclusion. He discussed with Gates both progress and challenges in these areas.

Thanking the Gates Foundation for being the largest donor to Pakistan’s polio eradication programme, the Prime Minister called for a robust strategy to tackle the growing threat of polio and the complete eradication of the disease from Pakistan. Necessary steps were taken.

He reiterated the government’s firm commitment to polio eradication, ensuring that all state resources are deployed to protect polio workers, and personally overseeing national efforts to eradicate polio. Committed to

Gates thanked the Prime Minister for his dedication and personal involvement in the eradication of polio and expressed confidence that continued vaccination efforts and the government’s commitment would lead to significant improvements in the fight against polio.

Gates also emphasized the importance of data science tools and digital technology in improving the lives of Pakistanis.

The two parties agreed to maintain their cooperation not only in eradicating polio, but also in strengthening health care systems in all provinces and ensuring the welfare and prosperity of all Pakistanis with a special focus on women.