Bill Gates meets the Indonesian leader to discuss health and sustainable development initiatives
Jakarta, Indonesia – Jakarta, Indonesia (AP) – Bill Gates was in Indonesia on Wednesday to discuss health and sustainable development initiatives with the head of the fourth most populous country in the world.
Gates met the president PRABOWO SUBIANTO At the Palais de Style Colonial Merdeka in Jakarta to discuss global health, nutrition, financial inclusion and digital public infrastructure, the presidential office of Indonesia said in a statement before the meeting.
The co-founder of the Microsoft and Gates Foundation congratulated the adoption of vaccines by Indonesia such as rotaviruses for diarrhea and pneumococcus for pneumonia and the efforts of the country to reduce infant mortality.
He said ten million children under the age of five died when his foundation was launched in 2000, with 90% of the deaths due to diarrhea, pneumonia or malaria. This number has now been reduced by less than five million, said Gates.
“It was an incredible period. And there are many new tools to come,” he told Reunion, who was also assisted by Indonesian businessmen and philanthropists.
Gates' Foundation is currently developing a tuberculosis vaccine that should be tested in Indonesia, Subianto said.
“It's crucial because tuberculosis is still a deadly disease in the country,” he said.
Gates said that because wealthy countries have no tuberculosis, “this simply does not get money for diagnoses or medications or vaccines.”
Gates has granted more than $ 159 million to Indonesia since 2009. A large part of it has been awarded to the health sector, in particular for vaccination supply, said Subaianto. Thanks to the funds, Subianto said that Biofarma, a pharmaceutical company managed by the state, can now produce two billion doses of its polio vaccine each year, benefiting more than 900 million people in 42 countries.
The Gates Foundation also plans to deploy a micronutrient supplement for pregnant women in Indonesia in the coming months.
SUBIANTO said that Gates will receive the highest distinction of Indonesia in New York at the United Nations General Assembly in September for its services in the country.
During his first visit in person in the Indonesian capital, Gates should also visit a primary school in eastern Jakarta where more than 500 students took part in the program.
The United Nations Fund for the United Nations estimates that an Indonesian child out of 12 under the age of 12 suffers from low weight, while one in five is shorter than normal. Both conditions are caused by malnutrition.
Indonesia has launched an ambitious project this year to combat malnutrition which aims to feed nearly 90 million children and pregnant women. The program should cost 450 billions of rupees ($ 28 billion) until 2029.
Critics wonder if it is affordable. Investors and analysts have questioned the burden of finance of the State and the economy, and the links of the project with the interests of industrial lobbies groups.
