Some critics say that ending polio has become Bill Gates’ “white whale.”
Why not just settle for the huge drop in polio cases that we’ve seen over the past decade and then spend money on other things that kill so many more kids, like diarrhea and malnutrition?
“Polio is special,” Gates tells NPR’s Robert Siegel on All Things Considered. “Once you get it done, you save $2 billion a year that will be applied to those other activities. There’s no better deal economically to getting to zero.”
And Gates is putting his money — and his effort — where his passion is.
“Polio alone, for the last year, has been the majority of my time because we were having to really decide: Do we double down? Do we do this right?” he says.
In the end, he and his foundation calculated that to do it right and wipe out polio worldwide, it would about $5.5 billion over six years.
See the full story and listen to Bill Gates speech.
On 17 Feb 2014 We are Running 999 KM to end Polio, we hope to raise $10 for every 1 Kilometer. Bill Gates will match your donations 2 to 1.
