In Defense of Bill Gates - Kul Gautam Responds to Mukesh Kapila

Exchange of emails between Kul Gautam and Mukesh Kapila

Dear Dr. Kapila,

I am not sure if we have met before during our respective careers at the UN. But I have long been an admirer of your leadership, your writings and advocacy, especially on matters concerning global health, human development and humanitarian assistance.

I read with much interest your recent commentary: “The philanthropy of Bill Gates must be approached with caution.”. As a development professional, I tend to agree with many of your cautionary concerns in principle, but I have a different perspective in practice based on my experience at UNICEF.

Please find attached my short rejoinder to your commentary. I have also jotted down a much longer background paper elaborating my views and experiences. I would be happy to share it with you if that is of interest to you.

With best regards -

Kul Chandra Gautam

Reply of Mukesh Kapila

Dear Kul

Thank you for contacting me via my website and here. My best email is mukesh@mukeshkapila.org.

It was an honour to hear from you, and I greatly appreciated your “rejoinder” commentary which is fair and deserves wide attention. Are you publishing it somewhere e.g. on your own website or elsewhere, or, if not, happy to do it on mine as a “guest article”. If you want me to do it, please also send me a photo of yourself eg something engaging from your gallery – as I need one illustration

Also, by all means, please send me your bigger piece – useful for my study and research and teachings.

I remember GOBI-FFF very well. Unfortunately. Most of Grant’s successors were nowhere near his visionary leadership and charisma. It is also a pity that the global health scene got fractured during the Cold War between PHC (suspicion of Halfdan Mahler’s “socialist” orientation and the Alma Ata location in Soviet Union) and the “capitalist” Unicef (because it is New York based). I don’t think the international health system ever recovered and further fragmentation followed as you refer in your article.

In addition, I would like to invite you to appear on my podcast series: “Fading Causes” I have recently started hosting this (and so still work in progress). 

 See https://open.spotify.com/show/57bfEoLFmAPkUlBldrZ2nI on Spotify or on its new website still incomplete: https://fadingcauses.com/

So, I was wondering if you would like to appear on it. This would not be a debate between us but more on you responding to questions from me to allow you to reflect from your personal and professional life – including the above points and also drawn from your memoir which I have, of course, read and appreciated. I would prepare a list of questions for you in advance as mutual preparation – not as a rigid script but to provide hooks to hang a naturally evolving conversation...

If you are willing, we could do that over the next 4-6 weeks, recording online – taking about an hour of your time.

With best regards
Mukesh

Mukesh follows up.

Dear Kul

Your article is online here: https://www.mukeshkapila.org/in-defence-of-bill-gates/. Again thanks very much for a well argued and written piece.

And thanks for considering appearing on my podcast series. It is very simple – just a conversation between us recorded online through a special link. To explain a bit and discuss/preview some of the lines of Q and A, perhaps we could have a preliminary chat. Perhaps next week if you send me your phone/whatsapp number. Mine is below.

Also could you please send me a photo of yourself, as high a resolution as you have, for use in the podcast publicity?

Look forward and warm regards
Mukesh