Bill Gates expresses the inability to resolve global funding deficits in the United States
London: the co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, was involved in the lobbying of officials of the government of President Donald Trump to continue to finance health programs around the world, from infantile vaccination to the treatment of HIV, and warning that its foundation cannot intervene to fill the gaps, two familiar sources with the told the story said Reuters.
Gates, a technological billionaire has become a global health philanthropist, has met the National Security Council as well as republican and democratic legislators in recent weeks to put pressure on this case, the sources said.
“Bill [Gates] Recently been to Washington DC with decision-makers to discuss the vital impact of American international aid and the need for a strategic plan to protect the most vulnerable in the world while protecting US health and security, “said a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation.
Gates told the officials he had met that his foundation could not replace the role of the United States government, the sources said. Directors of the Gates Foundation also publicly declared that no foundation had this capacity.
At the same time, the main priorities of the Gates Foundation such as the eradication of polio and the fight against malaria will be affected by the American withdrawal. In such cases, the foundation should decide whether and how it can keep these programs on the right track, said a source close to the organization.
Gates discussions have focused on organizations such as Gavi, alliance vaccination, as well as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, among others. They are on the restricted list for the examination of the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump. The United States gives about $ 300 million a year in Gavi and more than a billion dollars in the world fund.
Several projects as part of the President’s emergency plan for the relief of AIDS (PEPFAR) are also on the list of exams, said the source.
The Global Fund refused to comment on this story, and Gavi said that he had not received a termination notice for his main American financing contract. The White House did not respond to requests for comments.
USAID has dismissed more than 5,200 subsidies and contracts, said a spokesperson for the State Department, adding that critical program awards remain active.
“USAID continues to support the response interim coordinated in the United States to the Ebola epidemic in Uganda; to provide vital HIV care and treatment services; to provide emergency assistance in conflict areas; and to support the main American strategic partners,” said the spokesperson.
At the National Security Council, Gates also prompted the United States to continue supporting the World Health Organization, which Trump has moved to release the first day of his administration, as well as efforts to eradicate polio.
Created in 2000, the Gates Foundation has an annual budget of more than $ 8 billion. Gates has regularly encountered security officials in previous administrations in key areas such as malaria or COVID-19. He met Trump at a dinner in December, before the inauguration, and in the White House in early February after the announcement of the USAID cuts, according to a Nbc report.
