Bill Gates visits War Room of Union Health Ministry

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and philanthropist, met Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya in the national capital on Wednesday and praised India’s COVID-19 management. Bill Gates praised India’s COVID management, vaccination drive, and digital health initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission during his meeting.

He also went to the National Public Health Observatory, which was built during the Covid period. India’s G20 health priorities, PM Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana and eSanjeevani were also discussed between Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the Microsoft founder.

“Wonderful meeting with @BillGates. He appreciated India’s COVID-19 Management, Vaccination Drive & Digital Health initiatives like Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. We discussed India’s G20 health priorities, PM Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana and eSanjeevani,” Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted on Wednesday.

Notably, one of India’s three health priorities at the G-20 summit is to ensure that such medical countermeasures are available to all in the event of another pandemic. The Health Minister showed him the dedicated War Room named National Public Health Observatory which was shaped during Covid times. It tracked COVID cases and vaccinations quickly and efficiently, and now every health programme and initiative employs Artificial Intelligence (AI).

On Tuesday, Bill Gates met with former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and discussed his philanthropic work, particularly in the field of children’s healthcare. In addition to Sachin, Gates met with Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das and discussed a variety of topics.

“Mr. @BillGates visited RBI Mumbai today and held wide-ranging discussions with Governor @DasShaktikanta,” RBI tweeted.

This is Gates’ first trip to India since the COVID-19 outbreak. On February 23, he expressed his delight at visiting India.

“India gives me hope for the future. I’m excited to visit next week and see the work being done by innovators and entrepreneurs to tackle big challenges like climate change, health, and hunger,” he tweeted.