Read what Bill Gates wrote about Dangote

Africa’s richest man who does good in addition to

doing well

A year ago, I gave a speech in London about the fight to

eradicate polio. It included a section on Nigeria, one of

just three countries where the virus still circulates. The

organizers told me Aliko Dangote had been invited. I

thought, I’d like to see him, but he’d end polio faster by

staying in Nigeria and doing the work he does every day.

Fortunately, Aliko thought the same thing. He skipped

my speech, and the children of Nigeria are better off for it.

Aliko is Africa’s richest man, and his business activities

drive economic growth across the continent. That’s

impressive, but I know him best as a leader constantly in

search of ways to bridge the gap between private business

and public health. It’s for that reason he helped create the

Nigeria Private Sector Health Alliance. And it’s for

that reason he is an advocate for agricultural research and

malaria control.

All of this is in addition to Aliko’s leadership on polio and

other diseases. The last time I was in Nigeria, we met with

dozens of people, from government leaders to front-line

health workers. After I left, Aliko followed up with them

to make sure they were doing the work they said they

would do. This year, Nigeria is on pace for its lowest

number of polio cases ever. Aliko is a big reason why.

*Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation