Hilal-i-Pakistan awarded to Bill Gates

ISLAMABAD: In recognition of his support for poverty alleviation and health care, President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday conferred the 'Hilal-e-Pakistan' award on Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates.

According to the details, Bill Gates was honoured with the award during a special investiture ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad today. Federal ministers, senior officials and members of the diplomatic corps were present on the occasion.

His charity organisation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is playing a critical role in the elimination of polio in Pakistan as well as supporting the financial system through various interventions.

Born in 1955 in Seattle Washington, Bill Gates is a co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest personal-computer software company.

Gates started Microsoft in 1975 with a vision of “a computer on every desktop and in every home” which has now been realized in many parts of the world.

In 2010, Bill and Melinda challenged the global health community to declare this the Decade of Vaccines. They pledged $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research, develop, and deliver vaccines for the world’s poorest countries.

In 2017, the foundation committed $300 million to help farmers in Africa and Asia cope with climate change. While in 2020, the foundation committed about $1.75 billion to support the global response to COVID-19.

Bill Gates meets PM Imran Khan

Earlier in the day, Bill Gates called on Prime Minister Imran Khan during his first-ever visit to the country and discussed matters related to polio eradication and other important issues.

During the meeting, Bill Gates hailed Pakistan’s efforts for eradicating polio from the country and said that the country has been polio-free for one year due to the efforts of polio workers and the cooperation of the parents.

He said that Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will continue its cooperation with Pakistan.

After arrival in Islamabad earlier today, the philanthropist visited Pakistan Polio Programme where he was briefed on the polio eradication campaign, progress and challenges in the country. During the visit, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan was also present.

Additional input from APP