ABU DHABI // UAE Government officials are backing the global goal by Microsoft founder Bill Gates to reduce infectious disease, childbirth and infant deaths to minimal levels by 2035.
The commitment was made during a round-table discussion organised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UAE Ministry of International Cooperation and Development, held at the Novotel Al Bustan hotel on Airport Road.
The discussion focused findings in Global Health 2035: A World Converging within a Generation, the report published in December 2013 by the Lancet Commission for Investing in Health. The report said that, with the right investments, significant improvements in global health can be achieved within 20 years.
While panel members agreed with this, they added that partnerships with international organisations were the key to reducing the spread of diseases.
Najla Al Kaabi, the assistant under-secretary at the Ministry, said the UAE should work alongside international bodies as a single entity could not build capacity, knowledge and effect delivery. She said: “With cross-border diseases, it is important to partner with more international bodies and also to coordinate nationally,” She added, as an example: “Through the Pakistan Assistance Programme we have reached out to rural areas.”
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the Minister for International Cooperation and Development, said in a statement that the UAE would work with Mr Gates to explore ways in which foreign aid organisations can support his goals.
“We can take heart from the report that despite the fact that there are inequalities, there are practical steps that we can take to dramatically improve global health in a relatively short time,” she said.
Mr Gates, the co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, also issued a statement backing the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development’s work. “The topics addressed in the discussion are very close to my heart and core to the work we do at the foundation,” he said. “In just two years, the Ministry has been recognised for its leadership role in the global development arena and we hope to continue to partner with them on events more frequently in the future.”
arizvi2@thenational.ae
