IndiaCSR News Network
NEW DELHI: In a conversation today with Chetan Bhagat, Bill and Melinda Gates, Co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, discussed the values and experiences that have shaped their philanthropy. Guided by the belief that ‘all lives have equal value’, the co-chairs spoke about their work and their commitment to supporting the government in reaching India’s most vulnerable communities with the services they need to live healthy and productive lives.
Speaking on her commitment to improving the health in India, Melinda said: “I love the work that we’re doing today and I love the progress that we’re seeing. I’m particularly gratified when I see progress for women and children.”
Bill and Melinda applauded the Government of India for its vision of an equitable health system, where women, babies, and children survive, thrive and reach their full potential.
Despite the number of challenges facing the country today, Bill said that there was every reason to believe that progress is possible: “I‘m very optimistic and very impatient. If we’ve got the right people and studied the right way, we will be able to come up with a solution.”
During the conversation, Bill and Melinda also engaged with thirty of India’s bright young students from three of the country’s leading academic institutions: the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Delhi), the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi), and the Delhi School of Economics. The students posed their questions to the co-chairs, including asking about the lessons they have learned from their work in other parts of the world.
In closing, Melinda asked how India’s youth could be better engaged on health and development issues affecting the country’s poorest people.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In India, the foundation focuses on four sectors: health, sanitation, financial services, and agricultural development and works with national and state governments, Indian businesses, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and development partners to generate economic growth for the benefit of all Indians. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
