What draws Bill & Melinda Gates to India, especially Bihar?-Mar 28, 2011

What draws Bill & Melinda Gates to India, especially Bihar?

Published on Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 16:08 | Updated at Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 20:11 |

In a CNN-IBN special Melinda and Bill Gates of the Gates Foundation spoke exclusively to Rajdeep Sardesai about the special bond that they share with India.

Below is a verbatim transcript of their interview. For the complete details watch the accompanying videos.

Q: The ‘Gates Way to India’ is what we have called today’s programme because both of you seems to have developed some kind of a special affinity to India. You put about USD 1.2 billion of the Foundation’s money in public health projects in India alone. What is it that draws you in a sense to India?

Bill Gates: There are several things. The first is there is a lot of progress being made in health here but there is still a long way to go. We are trying to help, trying to fund research and we have also found great companies here that are doing things like cheap vaccines, innovative vaccines and so they become very critical partners both for our work in India and our work all over the world.

Q: That’s interesting because it’s not just India that’s become the ‘Gates Way To India’ but its Bihar that you have chosen to put a lot of money in very specific large family health programmes. Is there any reason that you chose Bihar out of all the Indian states?

Melinda Gates: There are two reasons - there is a large burden of disease in Bihar but there is also unbelievable leadership with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar there. They are taking apart their health system and saying - how do we reduce the number of mothers that die in childbirth every year, how do we get the immunization rate up because we know that those save children’s lives if we get them vaccinated. He is showing leadership and we are seeing immunization rates climb in Bihar. We know work is possible.

Q: Most of your projects are strategic partnerships whether it’s the polio programme, whether it’s the AIDS programme, whether its maternal mortality which means that you need governments that function, you need good government and good leaders in a sense to work with in this public-private partnership?

Bill Gates: That’s right. Vaccination is something that can be done worldwide even in places like Somalia that has no government but there is a very high vaccination rate.

Q: At the end of the day can the Gates Foundation on its own transform the quality of health facilities because you need good strong government. Does that worry or trouble you about India or frustrate you about India that we perhaps don’t invest enough, the government doesn’t invest enough in health where it’s less than 3% of GDP?

Melinda Gates: The government is making investments. Certainly, we would love to see increases in those investments. When you see the National Rural Health Mission essentially working or the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) scheme, we know more women are going into institutions to deliver than ever before in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar.

The rates still need to go up but its saving those mothers lives. What the Foundation can do is be catalytic. We can help show on the edges how to make those programmes better but it’s ultimately government funding that funds immunizations or something like JSY.

Q: Lot of your work is in Africa for example whereas in some parts there is no government. In India on the other hand, some believe there is too much of government but the money doesn’t go where it really should. In your interactions with Indian leaders do you see a change in mindsets now, a recognition that health and education really are critical for India to make the next step forward?

Bill Gates: Absolutely. The health budget has been going up, there are innovative practices and we see a real sense of commitment. We also see the innovation where really the great low cost vaccines are mostly being done by companies here in India. So the innovation of the private sector combined with a little bit catalytic philanthropy and reasonable governance is a great formula.

Q: Is there a sense with every visit that you come that things are getting better?

Melinda Gates: Absolutely. My first visit to India for the foundation was 12 years ago and the progress is substantial. Even in UP, the number of roads and the difference that makes for a woman to get to a healthcare facility or in Bihar the crime rate is down. We are seeing immunization rates climb in Bihar, from 35% in 2005 to 65% today and their goal is to go even higher and that’s what exactly we want to see. That’s real progress in health and it’s saving children’s lives.

Q: You have decided that you are going to try to get Indian corporates more and more involved in corporate philanthropy through the Giving Pledge Campaign that you and Warren Buffett are talking about 50% of the company’s profit or an individual’s profit goes to philanthropy. Is that something which is now going to get equal importance in your focus on India that it’s not just about the public health projects but what you can do with Indian corporates in terms of philanthropy?

Bill Gates: The dialogue that we will have this week when we talk about philanthropies is really to share ideas. There are some great philanthropists here in this country going back to the Tata work that even predates some of the great American philanthropists and there are some new ones, particularly, the technology pioneers who are doing some great work.

We want to share ideas and talk there. We do think corporate philanthropy is great. We also think personal philanthropy is great and if we share ideas about what works and what doesn’t, we will encourage each other to do more and do it better.

Tags: Gates Way to India, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, vaccines, family health programmes, Nitish Kumar, AIDS programme, National Rural Health Mission, Janani Suraksha Yojana