Gates was honored with the country’s second-highest civilian award in recognition of his work to alleviate poverty
Pakistan’s President Dr Arid Alvi awarded the ‘Hilal-e-Pakistan’ award to Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday.
Gates was honored with the country’s second-highest civilian award in recognition of his work to alleviate poverty and diseases like polio and tuberculosis.
The prestigious Hilal-e-Pakistan award was given by President Arif Alvi in a televised ceremony.
Bill Gates is on a daylong visit to Pakistan. He met Prime Minister Imran Khan and discussed the country’s progress in the effort to stop poliovirus transmission.
“Pakistan’s commitment to ending polio is inspiring,” Gates said in a statement released by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Government leaders, health workers, and parents are working tirelessly to ensure this disease never paralyzes a child again. This is the final, and hardest, phase of the eradication effort, but by keeping up the momentum and staying vigilant, Pakistan has an opportunity to make history by ending polio for good,” Gates said.
“Polio eradication is a top priority for our government,” said Prime Minister Khan. “We are working at all levels to ensure that every child is protected with the polio vaccine and are grateful for the continued partnership and support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and our other polio partners. We have a clear plan to stop this virus, and I am committed to seeing it implemented in full so that Pakistan can help secure a polio-free world.”
Earlier, Gates also visited the National Command Operations Center (NCOC), the body overseeing Pakistan’s coronavirus response since the pandemic began, where he was given a detailed briefing about Pakistan’s vaccination drive.
He met NCOC chief Minister Asad Umar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and Senator Sania Nishtar, special assistant on poverty alleviation and social safety to Prime Minister Khan, to discuss progress on Pakistan’s flagship poverty alleviation program, Ehsaas.