President Bola Tinubu has commended the co-founder of Microsoft and chairman of the Bill Gates Foundation for inspiring leaders worldwide by consistently lifting the poor and underprivileged.
The President who conferred the national honour of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic on Bill Gates in Lagos, acknowledged the renowned philanthropist’s interventions in maternal health, agriculture and infectious disease research.
In his remarks, the Minister of Health and Social welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said Mr Gates’s recognition was well deserved, considering his long-term involvement in Nigeria’s national development.
He said the effort to eradicate polio was one of the Foundation’s toughest and the Foundation had already rolled out HPB vaccines to reduce the 7,000 annual deaths of women from cervical cancer.
He said a single dose of the vaccine taken by girls ages 9-14 could give them lifetime protection.
