Ebola News – USA: The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is a “great example” of how the world must come together to tackle a global health issue, Bill Gates said Monday, and despite the widespread criticism of a slow early international response, the billionaire philanthropist noted that what’s taking place now is “quite impressive.” “There’s a pretty clear road map of what needs to be done,” he said at POLITICO’s “LESSONS FROM LEADERS” event. Story Continued Below Gates is the founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which this month pledged $50 million to fight the Ebola epidemic through emergency medical care, supplies and long-term research into potential treatment therapies. That commitment was the largest single donation the foundation has ever pledged to a humanitarian cause. SPONSORED CONTENT In an hour-long wide-ranging conversation with POLITICO editor Susan Glasser and Chief White House correspondent Mike Allen, Gates also spoke about his support for Common Core education standards, the reason he doesn’t give much to politicians and even his taste in fast food. (PHOTOS: Lessons from Leaders launch event with Bill Gates) He declined to fault the global response to Ebola, describing the situation in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea as “a very unique Ebola epidemic” and describing the weak health systems and other fundamental issues they’ve confronted after years of civil war, which have exacerbated the current crisis. In particular, he praised the U.S. effort to date, which recently expanded to include the mobilization of up to 3,000 military troops to set up field hospitals, train health workers and provide other key logistical support in those three devastated countries. “The U.S. is a leader in being able to move into areas” and turn the tide, he said. Despite his optimism, Gates wouldn’t say when he thinks the epidemic might begin to wane. Its spread across borders remains a “big concern,” he noted, stressing that nations need to be ready to react fast should any cases suddenly emerge there. (Lessons from Leaders: The Ebola leadership gap) Yet he predicted that the health infrastructure that’s essential to a turnaround would be in place within “the next 30 days.” The conversation with Gates expanded beyond Ebola into a broader discussion of the foundation’s work in global health, which has focused on eradicating diseases like malaria and polio, spurring advances in vaccines and supporting farmers in developing countries as a key way of improve nutrition. He talked up the impact seen through building up primary care systems in developing countries, then quickly brought that success back to West Africa, where the worst outbreak of Ebola in history is only continuing to accelerate. In Liberia and Sierra Leone, nearly 5,500 cases had been reported as of last Tuesday, but health experts believe that number is a gross under-count of what’s really happening. Deaths in those two countries and Guinea are nearing 3,100, according to the World Health Organization’s official tally. CDC warned last week that if the disease is not contained soon through a massive and sustained international response, 1.4 million people could be infected by January. (Also on POLITICO: John Harris introduces Lessons from Leaders) “If we’d had [strong primary health care there], this epidemic would have been caught a month or two before it was,” Gates said. He drew laughs several times, in particular when asked about the “giving pledge” he and fellow billionaire Warren Buffet have issued to challenge other wealthy families in the United States to donate much of their money to philanthropic efforts. “We’re not saying to give it all away,” he clarified quickly. And although he termed the gridlock in Washington “very concerning,” he had kind words for Congress’ “phenomenal generosity” with overseas aid for health issues — which drew a retort from an ex-lawmaker in the audience. “Thanks for the kind compliment about Congress,” said former Sen. Chris Dodd. “You may be the only person in town” who thinks that. Gates also discussed how the foundation, one of the largest in the world, considers where and how to act — “by picking goals like childhood death, childhood nutrition, kids who get a four-year degree...We try to ground ourselves on, working on problems like that and seeing how tough it is. We try and get on out in the field a lot and see where things are falling short of what we hoped would come together.” As to his personal approach to philanthropy, he explained that he isn’t enthusiastic about donating to candidates but does “normal kind of contributions” on more bipartisan issues. He riffed a bit about why. “If somebody gives a million on one side and somebody else gives a million on another side, that’s 2 million [dollars] that could have gone to a great charter school or inventing new vaccines or rolling things out,” Gates said. “I don’t think my backing, putting a lot of money into political contributions is a way I’m going to try and help improve the world.” So the Super PACs can back off? “Well, they know not to call me. They don’t bother me. Once you set the precedent that that’s not your game, they go elsewhere.” Gates was also asked about the foundation’s work on education issues in the United States, where it has been criticized by some for supporting reforms that undercut public schools. In particular, it has invested more than $350 million to help create new small schools, push charter schools and, in an especially controversial move, propel the Common Core State Standards. He never expected Common Core to be political, and there’s been a lot of “misinformation” about it, Gates said.“Common Core is a very basic idea that kids should be taught what they’re going to be tested on, and we should have great curriculum material,” he said. He also defended other controversial government efforts such as No Child Left Behind, under President George W. Bush, and Race to the Top, under President Barack Obama, saying that all have helped to focus attention on disparities in educational achievement. No Child Left Behind, he said, showed how bad problems in inner city schools were in absolute terms and in comparison to suburban schools. “No one wanted to deal with all the bad news,” he said. The “LESSONS FROM LEADERS” series, featuring national and global figures, will examine the challenges of leadership in political life. Gates said that among the leaders he’s most admired, Nelson Mandela stood out for his ability to get others “to step back and say we’re all in this together.” The Monday morning event, which drew more than 120 people to the Bank of America headquarters in downtown Washington, ended on a light note as one of the world’s richest men admitted not only to wearing a $10 watch but also to liking burgers — and not necessarily the high-priced variety. “Burger King is pretty good,” he allowed.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 15:44:38 +0000
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