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Bill Gates at World Health Assembly

Bill Gates, on his way to Davos, issued his annual letter yesterday outlining his philanthropic goals and offering perspective on how best to make the world a better, healthier and more equitable place.

Most of the news media focused on Gates’ fairly provocative challenge to those who criticize and oppose the Gates Foundation’s strategy for improving agricultural productivity primarily in Africa — generally dubbed the “Green Revolution for Africa.” Basically, he said the choice is Innovate or People Will Die.

Lesser noticed but perhaps of more immediate and overall importance, Gates also called upon rich nations to recognize the value of foreign aid — and not to cut aid budgets due to the current economic downturn. Here’s a few stories on that, from the Wall Street Journal and the AFP. Here’s Bill on a brief video clip the Telegraph put out: