Madam, – The leadership being undertaken by Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and the group of over 30 US billionaires who have publicly pledged to give at least half their wealth to charitable causes (World News, August 5th) is to be commended.
To those working for charitable organisations that derive the majority of their income from the goodwill of benefactors like the Gates Foundation, this announcement is a very positive development. The work that we and other NGOs do to build sustainable health systems and improve access to care and treatment in developing countries could not happen without the initiative and goodwill from such individuals.
Ireland still has a large number of extraordinarily wealthy individuals, whether resident or not, who I hope can take note of this action and respond publicly and positively. The challenge has been set – let us now see who is willing to add their name to the initiative. – Yours, etc,