Bill Gates and Akhilesh Yadav meeting: UP and Gates foundation to tie up to improve healthcare in the state

Bill Gates met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and offered the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s support to help improve health services in the state. It was decided that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) shall be signed within two months between the UP government and the Foundation, an official said. The Foundation shall provide technical, management and programme design support in the maternal, neonatal and child health, vaccination and other health and agriculture related programmes. The chief minister apprised the 56-year-old Gates about the efforts undertaken by his government to tackle the poor health indicators. He also discussed with Gates the problems of vector borne diseases like tuberculosis and Japanese encephalitis in parts of the state.  

The  Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is looking to form a more productive relationship with the state government and they see a new opportunity with Akhilesh Yadav becoming the CM. They look to address the state’s nutrition problems and neonatal mortality. One thing they are going to try out is a checklist of things to do decrease neon-natal mortality and making the immediate post-delivery period safer for the child. The foundation is also looking to invest in women’s health and family planning.