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`Gates Foundation has nothing to do with Microsoft activities'

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

Microsoft Corp chairman Bill Gates on Thursday said the Bill & Melinda Foundation functions as an independent entity and has nothing to do with Microsoft.

"It (the foundation) has no connection with software related activities," Gates said in his brief interaction with the media after making his opening remarks at a round-table on immunisation services -- the first programme of his day-long hectic schedule in Hyderabad.

He was responding to a query whether he was focusing on the Foundation's activities to divert public attention from the anti-trust cases that Microsoft has been facing for some time. He said that he and his wife established the Foundation to take up activities in the fields of health and learning. "I wanted to do it in my 60s but then I realised that I must do it at a much younger age," he explained.

Gates said the Foundation has started a $750-million Vaccine Fund to improve the immunisation systems and fight killer diseases globally.

"Improving children's health is so important and so little is being done. Millions of lives can be saved through vaccination. Many new vaccines are used in rich countries but these are not available to billions and billions of children the world over. Vaccines are getting world-wide usage now. Extending existing vaccines to all children could save three million lives every year, including half a million in India," he pointed out.

Gates said the Foundation has funded the partnership project for children's vaccine programme in Andhra Pradesh. "I feel the programme is very good. The performance has been excellent. The partnership (between Gates Foundation and AP government) is excellent. Very ambitious schedule had been set and it has been achieved. Hundreds of thousands of children have benefited. Six additional districts are now being covered under the second phase of the programme," he added.

"We are entering the second phase (of AP project). We are celebrating a major milestone. It is an important project for us. Hepatitis B vaccine will be made available to all children (in the state)," he said and pointed out that the Foundation has funded the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation India project.

The two-year project, with funding of $4.1 million, begins in 15 cities across India in late 2002 and will be expanded to 32 districts by the end of 2003. It will improve India's universal immunisation programme by introducing Hepatitis B vaccine and auto-disable syringes and by improving the programme's management.

Answering a question, Gates said the Foundation's efforts spanned measures for combating all major diseases. The Japanese encephalitis vaccine programme, taken up during the first phase of AP project, for instance, has been a success. He hoped the experiences from immunisation project in AP would be replicated in other Indian states as well as in other countries.

"But the most challenging and scary problem of this age is HIV/AIDS. We are also working in this area to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for this disease. The only thing to do at this stage is to motivate people to change their behaviour so that they don't run the risk of contracting AIDS," he said and recalled the special initiative announced by him recently to provide $100 million as initial commitment to India to undertake preventive activities.

Appreciating Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's personal commitment to speak openly about HIV/AIDS, to make people aware of the dangers, he said AP would be taking up the awareness campaign in a sustained manner. "This is a disease which is sexually transmitted. It is time for people to speak out," he observed.

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