Bill Gates puts up an annual list of year’s best news of his blog, GatesNotes. This year’s list has 6 things and we have taken the liberty of bringing this list to you. Check out the list below and let us know what you think of it.
6. “German measles” Rubella has been eliminated in the Americas.
Following an effort that lasted for 15 years, Rubella – a dangerous disease for pregnant women leading to death or extreme birth defects – has been eliminated in America. Gates said, “This milestone lends momentum not only to efforts to wipe out rubella around the world. It also gives a shot in the arm to efforts to eliminate measles, which is more deadly and more contagious than rubella, because the rubella and measles vaccines are often given in combination.”
5. Mobile banking
Gates believes that mobile banking is one of the best things to have ever been invented. He writes, “Today, more than two billion people have no access to financial services, severely limiting their ability to borrow, save, invest, and participate in the mainstream economy. But that is changing fast.” About 75% of adults have a mobile bank in Kenya and some fast-paced progress is being made in Brazil, Rwanda, Bangladesh, India and Tanzania. He further adds, “When I’ve traveled in these countries, I’ve seen digital financial innovation that’s even outpacing what we see in rich countries.”
4. SAT College Prep studying is now free for everyone
The company that created SAT helped the Khan Academy in launching free online study tools that featured interactive lessons and videos for SAT or PSAT. Gates says, “I’m very excited about this development because of what it means for kids who can’t afford expensive test-prep classes and tutors.”
3. The Nobel Prize went to three researchers fighting diseases of the poor.
He writes, “On October 5, I woke up to the wonderful news that this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine had been awarded to three researchers who developed indispensable tools for fighting diseases of the poor.” Two researchers are working on tackling parasitic worms while the other one is attempting to cure malaria.
2. Neil deGrasse Tyson gives a brilliant 272 word defense of science.
Gates writes, “He makes the best argument I’ve ever heard for ensuring that science plays a big role in policymaking. Inspired by the short and eloquent Gettysburg Address, Dr. Tyson makes his case in just 272 words.”
1. Africa went a year without any new polio cases.
Gates writes, “On July 24, Nigeria marked one full year without a single new case of locally acquired polio, the crippling and sometimes fatal disease. It is the last country in Africa to stop transmission of wild polio. This milestone represents a huge victory—one that some experts feared would never come.”
This amazing result was achieved thanks to the efforts that were put in by hundreds of thousands of people who mapped each and every village in the north of the country. Back in 1988 polio was affecting 125 countries and now it is endemic in only two; Afghanistan and Pakistan and Gates is hopeful that it will be eradicated soon.