Bihar govt to sign MoU with Gates Foundation soon

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will soon be signed between the Bihar government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for executing a slew of health projects in selected districts of the state, according to state health department's principal secretary CK Mishra.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had in principle agreed to commit about Rs500 crore for the health projects, Mishra said here today.

The agreement was reached at on Wednesday between the state officials and a visiting Gates Foundation team, he said.    

The 11-member foundation team, headed by Ashok Alexander, consented during the meeting to offer "co-operation and finding" for the projects.

One of the major areas of the foundation's focus would be projects on reproductive health and nutrition, but it is also interested in funding efforts to combat and control tuberculosis, kala-azar, pneumonia and polio.