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THE FRECKLED MAN with the rectangular glasses instantly recognisable to much of the world stood in the West African heat, staring at data that had nothing to do with selling software.
But it was exactly where Bill Gates said he wanted to be, at a tin-roof clinic in a village in Ghana, listening to local health-care workers explain the progress they had made in vaccinating babies.
“These are the countries where I’m the least known,” the 57-year-old Microsoft co-founder told AFP, after a journalist pointed out that several of those at the clinic did not know who he was.
“I mean, nobody knows me here,” he said, before adding: “Maybe in the capital, but that has nothing to do with why we do the work.”
Gates’ foundation has been on a high-profile campaign to improve health by increasing vaccinations in poorer nations. Ghana, with an immunisation level above 90 per cent for some diseases, is being held up as a success story.
That’s why Gates, who Forbes says is the world’s second-richest person as well as its most generous, was here this week to visit health clinics and speak with officials about their efforts.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a major contributor to the GAVI Alliance, which helps make vaccines available to developing countries, including Ghana.
His visit came ahead of a so-called Global Vaccine Summit set for Abu Dhabi on April 24 and 25, where Gates and others will try to highlight the need for continued support for immunisations, as well as discuss a six-year plan to eliminate polio.
(Video: Ghana Broadcasting/YouTube)
These have not been easy times for the vaccination campaigns that Gates promotes with both his star power and his money.
The global economic slowdown has led to concerns over aid contributions and violence has hit polio immunisations in Nigeria and Pakistan.
He said he visited Ghana to get an on-the-ground view of what worked and what did not.
Gates also called Ghana’s primary health care system “probably the best” in Africa, while also singling out Rwanda and Botswana for praise.
But the story in certain other countries remains problematic – particularly in nearby Nigeria, which remains one of the world’s three polio-endemic countries despite its position as Africa’s largest oil producer.
And while Ghana has distinguished itself, there is some concern over whether its efforts will continue at the same level: for as the country continues its economic march that will eventually disqualify it for the aid that pays for much of its vaccination work.
For the time being however, it is a point of pride, with polio eradicated about 10 years ago and no child deaths from measles since 2002.
“With such achievement, it convinces them that immunisation works,” said Dr. K.O. Antwi-Agyei, immunisation programme manager for the Ghana Health Service, referring to discussions with politicians on maintaining financing.
“And once it’s working, then it’s worth investing into.”
What Ghana has working for it
Ghana has had a number of factors working for it, beginning with its political stability, with the country seen as a democratic success story in West Africa. It has held six successful elections since the 1992 end of military rule.
Its economy has also been strong in recent years, with 14 per cent growth in 2011 and some eight per cent last year.
But Gates and others point out that one of the real secrets of its success has been the way its health service is organised, with efficient community health centres that conduct outreach to ensure as many babies are vaccinated as possible.
A district health centre visited by Gates collects data on immunisations and posts it on a web-based system – a key point for the former software geek, who stresses that quality data is needed to assess health efforts.
A pilot programme is also being run that allows health centres to communicate with mothers by mobile phone text messages, sending them health tips and reminding them it’s time for their child’s immunisation.
As for what will happen when Ghana advances further along economically and begins to be phased out of major GAVI financial support, opinions differ.
Antwi-Agyei’s boss, Dr. Frank Nyonator, director of the human resources division in the ministry of health, said he is confident Ghana will pick up the slack on its own. Antwi-Agyei is more concerned.
But for now, progress can be seen at places such as the Ahentia health centre, set among dusty roads and where public electricity only recently arrived, one of the nurses said.
Mothers and their children looked on as nurses and volunteers weighed a baby from a sling hung from a tree branch. Inside, a refrigerator equipped to operate with gas when electricity is not available kept the vaccines cold.
Faustina Havor, a 30-year-old volunteer, had no problem admitting she did not know who Bill Gates was. It did not matter.
“I just want to help my community – and my country as a whole,” she said when asked why she decided to volunteer.
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This is getting way too complicated for me! I quit!!
It’s simple, they screw us and we take it
Its simple – the idea of 17 different nations all having the same currency is daft
You cannot have ONE currency and 17 FINANCE MINISTERS!
Mmmm its begining to look an awful lot like Declan Ganleys proposal to federalise the EU debts using the ESM as the vehicle to facilitate this.
Correct Sean. Also looking an awful lot like Ganley was right when he said there would be no money left in the ESM by the time Ireland required the second bailout.
I don’t agree Sean. The fact that knowing that the EFSF and ESM will be able to intervene and buy bonds directly will probably push the yield down even without them actually having to do anything. That will make it possible for countries to actually use the markets instead of the bailout mechanisms.
If you look at the recent short-term Spanish bond issue it was actually oversubscribed from buyers. Yes, Spain paid a premium because the markets knew that they have no other choice currently but to pay that price. If however the Spanish can simply turn to the EFSF/ESM and sell their bonds to them at a lower yield then the markets will ultimately have to follow because they have to buy and sell bonds to make any money. There the markets will offer the lower rates and the EFSF/ESM won’t actually have to do anything.
@ Jim Walsh
Your analysis is somewhat skewed.
Firstly EFSF and ESM do not have the €750 billion being brandied about, this is an imaginary figure because they are just sums that have been promised by EZ member countries including Italy and Spain! Where is it going to come from if it is actually needed?
Secondly, you sound very simplistic when you assume that the markets will offer lower rates because of (a non existent fund?). That is precisely what was expected when we had this phony €100 billion bailout for Spanish banks 2 weeks ago, rather the markets rightly saw through the charade and the Spanish bond rates has not reduced but topped 7% this week .
By the time the markets see that this an unholy cross between a sham and scam- it will all start again.
Jim. 750bn is nowhere near enough to bailout Spain and Italy. It will not solve the crisis only buy more time.
Not at all… Italy payed 20% of Spain’s bailout at an interest of 3% … To pay this Italy borrowed from the ESM at 7% … Basically it has put both countries over the edge and now Italy’s closer to boiling…. European union fail…..
This is just a precursor to the American dept crisis… The real crash the dollar bust
750bn would be enough to bailout Spain for this year, but not Spain and Italy.
Spanish banks borrow over 300bn a month from the ECB, and have 3 trn in debt.
This is a big step forward but a long way from resolving it. Look at how Greece has nearly swallowed half of that 750 already and it is only 1/14 the size of these two and its banks and private sector have low debt, as opposed to Spain/
Italy did not borrow from the ESM at 7% – they borrowed on the open markets at 7%
The whole thing is going to burst in 3 years time
What date?
I predict this will go ahead and the morning headline will be ‘costs drop on borrowing’ followed by an evening headline of ‘costs rise after morning rest-bite, markets unconvinced’. Whatever they do the markets keep coming back at us harder, we really are slaves to the markets.
We are slaves to the market but it is a point as well, that half gestures like this, can’t be expected to solve anything.
The crisis is because of the euro. You cannot have a monetary union without a fiscal union. And you cannot have a fiscal union without political union.
The parliaments of Europe will never agree to political union
They will also never agree to fiscal union. The principle power a parliament has is control over the finances. They will never hand over this power to Brussels
The euro crisis could be over in the morning if the ECB was allowed to buy up sovereign debt. But Dr Merkel will not give them that power. She will only give them that power when there is a fiscal union. And a full fiscal union, if there ever is one, could take years
For example the Bank of England has bought up a THIRD of UK sovereign debt. That is why Britains yields or interest rates are down at 1.5%. If Spain had its own central bank, it could mop up all their govt debt and have the same low yields
The markets ate sure to look for a way to exploit this if it becomes reality. Is it possible?
The question is will it become reality? All 17 countries will have to agree to this scheme. Will the triple AAA countries agree if they think it will damage their ratings?
Sorry that last comment should have been directed at Too Trueleft and not Sean.
That piggy bank is looking awfully small right now.
*sorry not directed at you. General comment.
have your say