Bill Gates expresses interest to invest in IT, health sectors in letter to prime minister: PTI

Published January 9, 2019
Former CEO of Microsoft and famous philanthropist, Bill Gates. —File Photo
Former CEO of Microsoft and famous philanthropist, Bill Gates. —File Photo

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) official Twitter account on Tuesday announced Bill Gates' interest "to invest in the IT sector" which he had reportedly communicated in a letter written to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to the tweet: "The letter also stated that Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is interested in investing in the health sector of Pakistan."

Bill Gates' letter to the prime minister was delivered by Dr Christopher Elias, President of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations Global Development Division, who along with Director General World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreye, met with the premier today in Islamabad, APP reported.

The prime minister asserted Pakistan's commitment to tackle polio eradication as a national public health emergency.

Briefing Dr Elias and Dr Ghebreye on the government's effort to this end, the premier said that polio vaccination activities were well organised, held in close collaboration with provincial governments and directly overseen by the national, provincial and divisional task forces.

He expressed the hope that WHO would continue as a reliable partner to bring improvement in Pakistan's healthcare.

Dr Ghebreye said that WHO had increased its focus on public health and its country-level impact. He said WHO now has an increased emphasis on improving people's access to health related information.

The prime minister was briefed regarding the ongoing programmes and projects WHO is implementing in Pakistan

WHO has considerably increased the level of support in Pakistan, mainly in the area of polio eradication.

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