December 29, 2008 | Read Time: 2 minutes
A new report’s criticism of how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation fights diseases is being debated.
Global Health Watch 2,
a report published by four international health advocacy groups, questions Bill Gates and his foundation’s efforts on several levels. The charges include that the foundation for many years ignored the importance of improving the basic health infrastructure of developing countries; it invests in unethical corporations; and that philanthropy puts too much power in the wealthy to improve the lives of the global poor.
But the authors of Philanthrocapitalism defend the Microsoft tycoon and his charitable work.
On their Values blog, Michael Green and Matthew Bishop write that the report is off-base with its concerns.
For example, the report complains that the Gates foundation “is not accountable to developing governments or the World Health Organization,” the authors write. “Our reply: That may be the point — it gives Gates the freedom to do risky things that global consensus policy-making would not permit.”
But the anonymous author of Gates Keepers, a blog critical of the foundation, disagrees, saying that Mr. Bishop and Mr. Green are trying “to silence the legitimate voices of those in civil society.”
UPDATE: Mr. Green and Mr. Bishop have responded to Gates Keepers and defended their reporting on Mr. Gates and his foundation. The authors also praise the Gates Keepers’ self-appointed watchdog role, but question why the blog relies on anonymous writers.
“Of course, we welcome the creation of the Gates Keepers Web site,” they say, “which seems to be dedicated to criticizing the Gates Foundation (although the lack of any information on the Web site about its mission or who is writing or funding it is somewhat troubling, especially given its frequent calls for the Gates Foundation to be more transparent). We will certainly be regular readers.”
What do you think? Does the health report raise important concerns? Click on the comments link below to share your views.
