President Prabowo, Bill Gates Discuss Global Health Cooperation

President Prabowo Subianto receives a visit from world’s philanthropist as well as founder of the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, in an official meeting held at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (05/07). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

President Prabowo Subianto Wednesday (05/07) welcomed Bill Gates, one of the prominent figures in philanthropy as well as founder of the Gates Foundation, at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. The meeting discussed strategic cooperation in the health sector to tackle infectious diseases such as polio, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria.

In his remarks, President Prabowo expressed appreciation for the significant contributions of the Gates Foundation to the development of health and welfare in Indonesia. Since 2009, the foundation led by Bill Gates has provided grants exceeding US$300 million, mostly focused on the health sector.

The President also highlighted the role of the Gates Foundation in supporting polio vaccine production through state-run pharmaceutical company Bio Farma, which has become one of the world’s largest vaccine producers with an annual capacity of up to 2 billion doses.

“Bill Gates foundation has given assistance to the production of polio vaccine with the amount of up to Rp1.3 trillion through Bio Farma. It produces 2 billion doses of vaccine every year, benefiting 902 million people in 42 countries,” said President Prabowo.

He also expressed optimism about the Gates Foundation’s commitment to developing vaccines for TB and malaria, two diseases that remain major challenges in Indonesia.

“Indonesia will be one of the trial sites, and we know that TB causes significant loss, with nearly 100,000 deaths annually. We are determined to reduce this number. Bill Gates has also shown his commitment to continue supporting us in this area, and he is also developing a malaria vaccine,” the President explained.

At the same occasion, Bill Gates expressed appreciation to the warm welcome from President Prabowo and reaffirmed his commitment to continue global philanthropic efforts.

“I greatly enjoy this philanthropic work and hope to do more. Once again, thank you for the warm welcome given by the President. Thank you,” said Bill Gates. (BPMI) (EST/MMB)