Bill Gates lauds Indian Govt.’s efforts to fight polio

(Nov.05,2008):-Bill Gates praised the Indian government's efforts to fight polio and predicted Wednesday, that with the help of his public health foundation, significant progress will be made in the battle to wipe out the disease. Gates, who co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife, said “India was on track to rid the country of polio and could be a model for other nations still struggling with the deadly disease.”
Gates said India, a nation of 1.1 billion people, was doing a good job of fighting polio with immunization drives and an effective surveillance program that identifies cases early, and his foundation aimed to support the government's efforts. “It's amazing what a large task this is,” Gates told reporters on his first trip to India since stepping down from Microsoft to devote his time to philanthropy. “Despite the challenges, I am more convinced than ever that India will lead the way to the successful eradication of polio”, he added.
There have been 496 cases of polio in India so far this year, accounting for about 35 percent of polio cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Most of those are in the impoverished northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where poor public health facilities, shoddy infrastructure and strong monsoons have made immunization drives difficult. Polio mostly strikes children under 5. According to government figures, India has immunized 172 million children against the disease. Polio is endemic in only four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. The Gates Foundation has spent 400 million dollars worldwide in polio eradication efforts, and Gates said the organization was committed to continuing the fight.