It is great that he's donating so much. I believe he's even taking the route whereby he gets a lesser tax deduction so that he can have a say in how the money is spent. Not sure of the terminology.
His donations have brought up some interesting questions though. He's mostly bypassing a lot of the established NGOs in favor of doing his own research and creating his own assistance programs. Oftentimes this means expensive duplication, however, it's also shaking up a lot of old, entrenched organizations.
His emphasis on medicines for disease is also controversial. Much of the third world's problems stem from hygeine. So, rather than promoting clean water initiatives and preventative health care he's promoting drugs.
It's his money and he has every right to do what he wants but in the end he's a businessman and has probably been swayed by other businessmen to pursue the spectacular results afforded by drugs as opposed to clean drinking water. Yes, there are a number of diseases that can only be cured by drugs but, why innoculate a child against TB if they're only going to die at age 20 of malnutrition?
His donations have brought up some interesting questions though. He's mostly bypassing a lot of the established NGOs in favor of doing his own research and creating his own assistance programs. Oftentimes this means expensive duplication, however, it's also shaking up a lot of old, entrenched organizations.
His emphasis on medicines for disease is also controversial. Much of the third world's problems stem from hygeine. So, rather than promoting clean water initiatives and preventative health care he's promoting drugs.
It's his money and he has every right to do what he wants but in the end he's a businessman and has probably been swayed by other businessmen to pursue the spectacular results afforded by drugs as opposed to clean drinking water. Yes, there are a number of diseases that can only be cured by drugs but, why innoculate a child against TB if they're only going to die at age 20 of malnutrition?