Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Bill Gates commends a pair of Indian-born scientists for pioneering work in the fight against HIV and coronavirus

JOHANNESBURG: Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates greeted South African Indian professors Salim Abdool Karim and wife Quarraisha for their contributions in the fight against HIV / AIDS and COVID-19.

The pair of scientists have turned down numerous awards both locally and internationally, including national honors in South Africa, for their pioneering work in preventing the spread of HIV among young women through the Center for the Aids Program of Research in South. Africa (CAPRISA) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Gates said his charitable foundation was now using the couple’s experience to control the spread of COVID-19.

Professor Salim Abdool Karim, who leads the South African government advisory team on COVID-19, has served on the Gates Foundation Scientific Advisory Board for 10 years. He also chairs the WHO Scientific Committee on HIV.

“By drawing on their HIV and TB (tuberculosis) experiences, they are helping to drive the COVID-19 response in South Africa and around the world,” Gates said.

The Microsoft founder said Caprisa’s motto impressed him. The motto is “Every day you come to work, you should look for how today will be better than yesterday”.

Salim said one in five HIV-infected people in the world is South African and this statistic motivated him and his wife to defend themselves against HIV.

“Very soon, we both realized that we could pioneer and find new ways to treat and prevent HIV. Now we have been able to produce these largely neutralizing antibodies.

“We will inject it into young women to check if it is safe and then we want to see if it prevents HIV. If it can, it will change the course of the HIV epidemic in Africa,” she said.

Quarraisha said he learned that epidemiology, a science, also has a social justice component.

“Women suffer about four times more infections than men. Our job as scientists is to try to find technologies that women can use to prevent HIV infection, especially those women who are unable to negotiate sexual practices anymore. traditional safes, “he said.

“We have managed to reduce transmission, but there are still nearly a million women dying from AIDS. It shouldn’t happen,” said Salim, who in May this year was forced to turn to social media to dismiss it as fake. news that it had received a grant of Rand 944 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Since I am a consultant to the Gates Foundation, I have no grants from Gates. Please communicate the truth to help stop this fake news,” said the professor.