This photo certainly depicts the Gates’ positive impression of the Center’s Hospital and their concern for the patients there.
Bill and Melinda Gates made an unannounced visit to ICDDR,B in Bangladesh in December 2006. Their foundation has donated generously to the Center, especially for pneumonia studies. Upper respiratory diseases hold the number one cause of death among children in the developing world.
The visit was a well kept secret for security reasons, and all went well. The Gates’ have been instrumental in bringing global health to the public’s attention. They make these kinds of trips annually to get first hand information about how their money is being used.
According to an article in Time magazine, the couple “delights in these escapades, not just because they are intellectually captivated by the scientific challenge of treating the diseases of the poor but also because they are convinced that they are living through a historic inflection point when medical breakthroughs could save the lives of millions.”
The International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), our partner in child health, is doing just that!