who contributed to the progress of india
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20 YEARS OF GROWTH
India’s progress
By Bill Gates | June 19, 2012 6 minute read
India’s progress over the past 20 years has been quite phenomenal. It deserves recognition especially now, as rich countries consider whether to continue investing in global development assistance despite all the economic problems they face at home.
India still faces many challenges. More than 400 million Indians live in extreme poverty. The country is home to half of all the world’s malnourished and underweight children and one fourth of the world’s tuberculosis.
But over the past 20 years, India has really emerged as a dynamic, influential country. It’s been one of the world’s fastest growing major economies, and it’s playing an increasingly important role in world affairs, including as a member of the G20 and the BRICS group of newly industrialized nations.
The current situation in India is quite hopeful. The country has a lot of talented people. The universities are improving. Government spending is going up because of the nation’s economic strength. Some reforms are needed, and that’s progressing, gradually. India represents all the challenges you face when you have lots of people living in poverty. And so India can contribute to how we solve problems globally.
A lot of progress has come from the nation’s culture of innovation, which has produced some really original and creative solutions. Yet, aid also has played an important role. Our foundation has invested more than $1 billion USD in programs to fight disease and poverty in India. I’m pleased with the results, and we will invest more in the future.
During my recent visit, I had a chance to see the latest progress on things that matter a lot to us: on eradicating polio and curtailing the spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, for example. And I saw how India is emerging as a model and increasingly a catalyst for improvement in other developing countries. For example, India has become a world leader in the development of high-quality, low-cost vaccines and other bio-pharmaceuticals, which are playing a huge role in improving health not only in south Asia but also in Africa and elsewhere.
Ending Polio
It’s now been more than a year since the last new case of polio was reported in India. In February, India was officially removed from the list of polio-endemic countries.
This is especially great when you look at it in context. Three years ago, India had more polio cases than anywhere else in the world. Its polio problem seemed like the toughest to tackle. Compared with the countries where polio persists, India is bigger by far, with the most kids, and still has regions where sanitation is poor. Within the country there’s lots of movement, which tends to spread infection.
Yet, India really stepped up to the challenge on polio. The government funded its own eradication program. They really educated mothers about why vaccination is good for kids. Twice a year, 2 million volunteers prepare 800,000 vaccination booths around the country—at schools, hospitals, and community centers. They immunize more than 172 million children one by one. Working with partners like Rotary International, WHO, and UNICEF, they have built an impressive infrastructure for delivering health services to some of the most underprivileged children in the world. And they have been very persistent in following up to find kids, even the kids of migrant workers, to get vaccination levels up above 90 percent. And so the disease stopped.
India is very proud of this achievement, and rightly so. It’s a direct result of political will, dedicated resources, and rigorous management and accountability. The commitment of government leaders has been critically important.