Mohammed bin Zayed receives Bill Gates

Abu Dhabi, Oct 10, 2012 (WAM) - His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received yesterday at Al Bateen Palace Mr. Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His Highness discussed with Mr. Gates the challenges facing poor nations and focused primarily on health issues of infants and children in disaster-stricken areas. The meeting, which was attended by H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, also discussed the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, how much has been achieved so far, the importance of continuous support and what still needs to be done towards the final eradication of the disease. The two sides stressed the importance of making concerted efforts, working with the concerned international organisations and launching Public Health Philanthropic Initiatives in order to combat deadly and crippling diseases and protect poorer nations against epidemics and other health problems. The meeting also discussed possible future collaboration on new charitable and philanthropic initiatives around the world, especially in poor and disadvantaged areas. Also present at the meeting were Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemi, UAE Minister of State, and Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Under-Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, as well as the delegation accompanying Mr. Gates. Earlier last year, His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Mr. Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill '&' Melinda Gates Foundation, announced pledges of US$50 million each for the purchase and delivery of vital vaccines in Afghanistan and Pakistan with the ultimate goal of forever preventing this disease from harming children. – Emirates News Agency, WAM