Bill Gates meets PM Imran during first-ever visit to Pakistan

Gates, who is also the co-chairman of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is on his first-ever visit to the country.

He visited the anti-polio programme, where he was briefed by the programme’s chief Dr Shehzad Baig and was informed of Covid-19 and polio prevention measures being taken in the country.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan took to his official Twitter handle to welcome Gates to Pakistan.

The SAPM stated that Gates’s planned engagements also include meeting President Arif Alvi and a review of the Ehsaas programme

During his visit to the country’s nerve centre for Covid-19 response – the NCOC – Gates met the body’s head Asad Umar and SAPM Dr Faisal Sultan.

Gates, along with his delegation, attended the NCOC’s morning session and were apprised about the forum’s role , methodology, achievements since the start of the pandemic and the current situation in the country, including various NPIs enforced by the NCOC to control the virus’ spread.

“A comprehensive review of Pakistan’s efforts against Covid-19 was presented to visiting delegation. The visiting delegation was also briefed on genome sequencing (prevalence of various variants in the country ),” said a statement.

Gates, according to the NCOC statement, took a keen interest in various initiatives by the NCOC particularly the smart lockdown and micro smart lockdown strategy used by the government.

The philanthropist also shared his views on Covid-19, particularly the vaccination drive.

During the visit, Umar acknowledged the efforts of Gates and his foundation to support Covid-19 initiatives in Pakistan. Gates appreciated Pakistan’s success against Covid-19 despite resource constraints and introducing excellent initiatives and measures for public health safety.

President confers Hilal-e-Pakistan award on Bill Gates

President Dr Arif Alvi conferred Hilal-e-Pakistan on Gates in recognition of his meritorious services to the people of Pakistan, particularly for the eradication of polio.

The award was given at a special investiture ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, attended by Begum Samina Alvi, federal ministers and senior officials.

Earlier in January, Gates and the premier discussed matters of shared concern including polio eradication in Pakistan and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The premier had expressed appreciation for the work of the Gates Foundation in fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world.

PM Imran had reaffirmed that eradication of polio from Pakistan remains a key priority of the government and efforts are underway to intensify the anti-polio campaign across the country.