June 1, 2025
Borkena
Toronto – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Sunday Awarded Bill Gates with Ethiopia Special Order – “Highest Honor” in a ceremony held at the National Jubilee Palace.
The Office of the Prime Minister wrote ” The prestigious recognition celebrates the profound and enduring impact of the Gates Foundation’s transformative work over the past 25 years in Ethiopia.”
Mr. Bill Gates, who is extensively criticized and seen with skepticism for his involvement in vaccine development and expansion of genetically modified food, is seen in a different light with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. Abiy Ahmed praised him as a person with “humility, respect, and a belief in equality. ”
The Bill Gates Foundation has got a few more recognition from client states but Prime Minister Abiy’s government seems to be the first in Africa to recognize Bill Gates. Perhaps Abiy is the first head of state from the underdeveloped world to characterize the U.S. billionaire as a man with “humility, respect, and a belief in equality. ” Praising figures and institutions that drew extensive criticism is not strange for PM Abiy. A few years back, he linked the World bank to one’s mother’s purse.
The office of the Prime Minister also stated that Bill Gates Foundation partnership with Ethiopia is “respectful.” Bill Gates has been widely seen as having a depopulation agenda. The criticism seems to be seen as the making of “conspiracy theory.” News outlets like Reuters has published stories seemingly to refute the narrative.
Bill Gates has involvement in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s “Prosperity” agenda in Ethiopia which has rather been generating extensive criticism across Ethiopia. Digital ID, agriculture, and health programs of Abiy Ahmed’s government – among other things – have attracted Bill Gates’ involvement in “Development program” in Ethiopia.
In the Health sector in Ethiopia, the Bill Gates Foundation supports “efforts to strengthen Ethiopia’s primary health care system, expand access to immunizations, improve coverage of family planning services, and improve maternal, newborn, and child health. Some of this work is in partnership with multilateral organizations that include Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Financing Facility; and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,” according to information on the Organization’s website.
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