Gates praises Blair's 'leadership' on world development

Tue Jan 25, 4:54 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown are providing commendable leadership by making funding for developing nations a top priority, the world's richest man Bill Gates (news - web sites) said in a newspaper interview.

Reuters Prime Minister Tony Blair and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates hold a joint press conference in 1997. Gates told The Times that Blair is providing commendable leadership by making funding for developing nations a top priority. (AFP/Pool/File)

"I have spoken with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown about their commitment and I am very excited about the leadership they are bringing," Gates told The Times, referring to the British foreign policy focus on aiding the developing world.

"The prime minister has talked about Africa as one of his big priorities and I think it is pretty novel that a world leader of a developed country is giving so much visiblity to these issues," he said Tuesday.

"The idea that governments could do a pretty dramatic step-up in their health spending is something (I am) very excited about."

Gates, the head of Microsoft, was speaking on Monday, on the eve of the announcement that his foundation will donate 750 million dollars over 10 years for worldwide infant vaccination.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (news - web sites) said the money would go to the Geneva-based Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (GAVI), a partner of the World Health Organization (news - web sites) (WHO).

He called the donation, which follows a similar donation he made to GAVI in 1999, "just a down payment", but said that rich countries had to meet their obligations to finance global public health needs.

The WHO says that between 2005 and 2015 donors and developing countries will have to find between eight and 12 billion dollars to protect children in the poorest countries, using currently available vaccines.

"There is a challenge of keeping world health in front of people, because it is in a sense a tragedy just happening there in the background. That is why it is so fantastic that Gordon Brown and Tony Blair are stepping up and saying, 'Let's keep this front of mind,'" Gates said.

Brown visited Africa earlier this month, outlining Britain's ambitions for a "new Marshall plan" which would see billions in foreign debt wiped clear for poor countries, and billions more in aid supplied by rich nations.

It would seem that Mr. Gates and U2's, Bono, are on the same page these days.