Gates, Prabowo discuss health, developmental steps

Bill Gates was in Indonesia on Wednesday to discuss health and sustainable development initiatives with the leader of the world's fourth most populous country.

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Gates met President Prabowo Subianto at the colonial-style Merdeka palace in Jakarta to discuss global health, nutrition, financial inclusion and public digital infrastructure, Indonesia's presidential office said in a statement ahead of the meeting.

The co-founder of Microsoft and Gates Foundation praised Indonesia's adoption of vaccines like Rotavirus for diarrhoea and Pneumococcus for pneumonia and the country's efforts in reducing child mortality.

He said ten million children under the age of five worldwide died when his foundation launched in 2000, with 90% of the deaths due to diarrhea, pneumonia or malaria. That number has now been cut in half to below five million, Gates said.