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Q & A with Bill Gates on that philanthropy

Bill Gates, of Microsoft, is one of the world's richest men. Commendably, "applying" his vast fortune, he has established a Foundation committed to providing aid to address health problems globally. Leaving aside the question of why private money should be being spent on what Governments ought to be, Newsweek has this Q & A with Bill Gates:

"Earlier this month NEWSWEEK invited readers to submit questions to Bill Gates about the work his foundation is doing on the problem of global health. We received more than 400 questions, and forwarded a selection of them to Gates."

A sample of the Q & A:

How did you start thinking about the Third World, when the whole world has been ignoring them?
—Kumud B.

Melinda and I first got involved in global health after reading an article about the huge impact of disease in poor countries. The article showed that every year millions of children die from diseases that are completely preventable with effective, affordable vaccines. We thought, “This can’t be true. But if it is true, it should be the priority of our giving.” Since then, Melinda and I have traveled extensively in the developing world, and those experiences have had a big impact too. When you have the opportunity to meet people in poor countries face to face, you quickly begin to see them as neighbors, not strangers. And when you see the devastation of diseases like malaria or AIDS, you want to do all you can to help.

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