Bill and Melinda Gates paid a visit to Norway on 3 June. They held an open meeting at the Opera House along with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to discuss cooperation between government authorities and the private sector on major global challenges, such as combating poverty. An audience of nearly 1200 turned up to follow the discussions.
Praise for Norwegian leadership
Bill Gates emphasised the important part Norway has played in this context, and held up Norway’s allocation of a large portion of its GDP to aid projects as an example for the rest of the world to follow. He urged Norway to keep up the good work, and said that Norway had become the Foundation’s best partner, not only due to the money it has contributed but also due to its leadership skills, which are making a real difference.
Bill and Melinda Gates and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg held an open meeting at the Opera House. Photo: Office of the Prime Minister.
213 million children vaccinated
According to a GAVI report, 213 million children have been vaccinated with the support of the Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that this has led to more than three million lives being saved. Norway has increased its support for the GAVI Alliance to NOK 500 million annually until 2015 (equivalent to EUR 55 million or USD 78 million). The sum total of Norway’s funding for the vaccination of children in poorer countries over this period will amount to more than NOK 6 billion.
Read more about the vaccination programme
1200 listeners
An audience of almost 1200 turned up to hear the discussion between Bill and Melinda Gates and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on international health, the role of the private sector in combating poverty and how the international financial crisis is hitting the world’s poorest. Photo: Office of the Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg commented that Norway’s cooperation with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a good example of a successful partnership between a government and the private sector. He drew particular attention to Bill and Melinda Gates’ businesslike and results-orientated approach to global health challenges, and for the way they have drawn attention to these important issues.
An audience of almost 1200 turned up to hear the discussion between Bill and Melinda Gates and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: Office of the Prime Minister
More people should give away their fortunes
When a Norwegian journalist asked whether other billionaires should also give away large sums of money, Bill Gates replied that they should give away most of their fortune, but that they ought to be able to retain a small part of it for themselves and their children. He added that the act of giving will clearly give them great pleasure, their children will have a better life, and the world will be a better place.
The Norwegian Government is cooperating with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through GAVI (the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization) to vaccinate children in poorer countries and to develop new vaccines to combat diseases like AIDS and malaria, which are among the major causes of death in developing countries today.
See the Bill and Melinda Gates and Jens Stoltenberg meeting on net TV