Bill Gates Speech at Abu Dhabi Media Summit

7/31/2019 Bill Gates Speech at Abu Dhabi Media Summit

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Bill Gates

Abu Dhabi Media Summit 2012

October 9, 2012

Thank-you for that kind introduction. Its a pleasure to be back in the

Gulf, and here again in Abu Dhabi.

I first began coming to this region when I worked full-time at Microsoft.

Even then, I was impressed with the pace of progress here. But since I

began devoting most of my time to philanthropy, I have been visiting the

Gulf more often forming deeper friendships and a stronger

understanding of the region. And I see change accelerating every time I

visit.

Ive been especially impressed with the young leaders Ive met here.

Theyre gifted, but also humble. The care deeply about their region, but

theyre also concerned about the rest of the world. Theyre shaping the

future, and in some ways, they seem already to be living there.

But they have an abiding respect for the past as well. One of the things

that makes this region so special is the way tradition and change exist

side by side.

You combine rising prosperity and a commitment to education with a

deep custom of charity, in keeping with the teachings of Islam.

I want to talk to you today about these unique gifts of the Gulf region

along with rising technology, strategic philanthropy, and new media

give you a key role in the fight against poverty and disease, with a

special impact in the Muslim world.

Philanthropy and optimism

It is a very exciting time to be working on humanitarian goals whetherin health, or agriculture, or education, or other efforts to lift the lives of


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But saving the lives of millions of children is not something we can do

alone. We dont have enough resources. We dont have enough

knowledge. We dont have enough access in many regions of the world.

To reach our goals we need partners.

That is why I am happy to be here. This is a great place to form deep

friendships and long-term partnerships to fight for humanitarian goals.

Polio

In particular, I have me with leaders and prominent citizens here to seekhelp in ending polio. As you all know, in the 1970s after more than

10, 000 years of disease and hundreds of millions of deaths, the world

eradicated small pox.

Ending polio is the next great goal for global health.

Polio cases have dropped more than 99 percent over the last 20 years.

From a high of nearly 400,000 cases a year to fewer than 200 cases so

far this year. From a high of 125 countries, down to just a few countries.

We can see the finish line.

But the last few years have given us a humbling lesson in how difficult it

is to end a disease. There have been new outbreaks and discouraging

setbacks. Today, polio is still paralyzing children in Afghanistan, Pakistanand Nigeria.

To win the fight we have to reach the children who fact the greatest risk.

I remember visiting Nigeria a few years ago. I had the chance to

vaccinate a set of infant twins. Then I met with a group of mothers. We

talked about the barriers to vaccinating children, and they all said: We

need to have permission from our husbands; we need the imams to talk

about vaccination and give permission during prayer.


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Of course, many imams are strong advocates for vaccination. After all,

people making Hajj must be vaccinated against multiple diseases,

including polio.

This shows how important it is to have the support of the whole

community. To reach the children, we need the help of the mothers,

and the fathers and the leaders. To reach Afghanistan, and Pakistan and

Nigeria, we need the help of their neighbours, their fellow Muslims, and

the rest of the world.

This is everyones cause. If we dont move forward, we move backward.

If we dont end it, it returns to countries that already are rid of it.

Some might say; But wait a minute. Polio is down to only a few hundred

cases this year. Its not that big a threat. Its not worth so much effort.

I say just the opposite. The more we drive down the numbers, the

harder we have to work.

Right now, I am spending more of my time and effort to end polio than

any other cause. Its the top priority of our foundation. We are

convinced that ending polio is achievable and will bring lasting success. It

will lay the foundation for a better public health system for children in

the poorest and most remote places. It will help us create strong

vaccination systems that will boost the fight against other diseases. We

can end polio! And when we do, it will rejuvenate the whole field of

global health.

But first, health care workers have to get vaccines into every high-risk

area.

Philanthropy in the Gulf

For years, we were confronted with a very difficult barrier. In a key tribal

region in Pakistan, Taliban leaders had declared that health care workers


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could not enter to vaccinate the children.

People who had worked for decades to end polio couldnt do anything

about it. There was no chance that outsiders were going to have any

sway among the leaders in the tribal area.

But then there was a breakthrough. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin

Zayed, with deep friendships in the region, sent a group of doctors from

the UAE to Pakistan and negotiated for their entry into the crucial areas.

The doctors vaccinated 20,000 children against polio and measles. This

was a fantastic thing for those children and mothers and fathers, and for

the cause of global health.

It is also a mark of why this region can play a pivotal role in improving

the lives of the poor. The leaders and citizens here can reach out as

partners to countries where they have special access and special kinship

- areas where the rest of the world doesnt have the standing to

intervene in the way that leaders here can do.

In another example, last year, our foundation established a partnership

with His Highness to deliver vaccines in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Without the partnership of His Highness, there is little our foundation

could do in those regions. Together, we can have a huge impact.

And giving inspires more giving.

His Highness leadership in vaccination has emphasized the importanceof this cause, and others are now following his lead.

Just yesterday, our foundation announced a new partnership with the

Islamic Development Bank. The partnership will provide financing and

grants for agriculture and malaria and for crucial polio eradication

efforts in Pakistan. Our foundation is honored to become a partner in

the fight against polio with the Islamic Development Bank.


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Last year, I met a family here in the gulf that was determined to use its

resources to help fight disease. This particular family is very wealthy, but

also very modest. They didnt want to talk about their generosity. But

some friends explained to me that in Islam it is permitted to talk about

ones charity if it will inspire others to give. And so this family was willing

to talk to other families about their goal.

During Ramadan, they hosted a gathering to build support and now they

are all funding delivery of polio and meningitis A vaccines in Africa. I just

met again with the family and their friends. It is inspiring to be part of

these efforts to solve problems for the poor.

And there are so many more. The Kalifa foundations funding of

nutrition programs. Dubai Cares support of education programs.

President Khalifas commitment to the eradication of guinea worm in

honor of his father, who was one of the earliest supporters of the

program.

This regions prosperity and generosity have made you an important

player in the worlds humanitarian efforts, and there are several

emerging factors that I believe will make the giving here even more

effective.

The first factor is the rise of strategic philanthropy. The world has a

much stronger understanding today of how we can make an impact with

our giving. We have all made mistakes with our giving in the past not

getting all the results we might have had. But weve learned, and nowwe know; there are clear models of success. If you can get health,

agriculture and education right, its a springboard to development, and it

works even in very poor countries. For a long time, people throughout

the world were happy just to have the good feeling that came from

giving. But that doesnt seem to be enough anymore. After all, the point

is not for the giver to have a good feeling, but for the people were

trying to help have a good feeling. And so today were all more

determined to make sure we do the greatest good for the largest


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number with the resources we have. That is strategic giving.

Second, we know that the most powerful leverage in philanthropy

comes through technology and innovation. This is the great power of

philanthropy to invest in the innovations that the private market

ignores because the people who benefit cant pay. The highest-impact,

most-neglected area of human ingenuity is innovations for the poor.

Whether its through vaccines that can save lives, or health tools that

reduce infant deaths, or new seeds that get six times the yield in harsher

conditions innovations for the poor are the pivot that can change the

world.

And the UAE is making massive new investments in technology and

innovation.

Khalifa University is producing the first Emirati nuclear and biomedical

engineers trained here on home soil.

Abu Dhabi is sponsoring the Masdar Initiative, gathering business and

research universities to focus on renewable energy.

As you deepen your research into technology, I want to exhort you to do

something that the West largely neglected to do for a very long time. For

too long, we in the West worked almost exclusively to develop and apply

technology to meet the needs of the rich world, only for those who

could pay. As you grow into a world hub for research, I hope you

constantly search for ways to apply technology to help people who cantpay.

Humanitys greatest advances are not in its discoveries but in how

those discoveries are applied to improve the lives of everyone.

There is one more factor that will help this region play a growing role in

worlds humanitarian work. The media. This region is home to deep

innovators in the field of media. And focused, continuous media


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coverage is key in any effort to improve the lives of the poor.

The media here reach the wealthy, who should know about the lives of

the poorest. And the media also reach the poorest, who should know

about the threat of disease and the power of vaccines. The world has

not yet fully tapped the power of the media as a force for good. In fact, I

think media is too passive a word to capture the dynamic role it can

play. The media is really a voice. And if it raises its voice to show how

bad things can get and how good they can be the media can become

the conscience of the world. I hope this a role you see for yourselves.

The great cultural tradition in Islam already makes this region a naturalleader in solving the problems of the poor. Your rising prosperity and

technological skill gives you the power to advance the humanitarian

agenda. Your innovative new media gives you a chance to raise your

voice for the poor and change the world for everyone.

You have a phenomenal opportunity.

Skeptics will tell you that nothing will change that poverty ahs always

been with us. But I am optimistic because these new tools and

technologies have not always been with us and that is why the future

can be better than the past.

InshaAllah.

Bill Gates Speech at Abu Dhabi Media Summit

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