EFTA01959363.pdf

To: [email protected][[email protected]] From: Terje Rod-Larsen Sent: Thur 9/12/2013 1:48:19 PM Subject: Fw: Report on meeting with Gates Foundation From: David Witt Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 06:10 AM To: Terje Rod-Larsen Cc: Andrea Pfanzelter Walter Kemp; Francesco Mancini; Camilla Reksten-Monsen; Nasra Hassan amela Corn Subject: Report on meeting with Gates Foundation Dear Terje: We felt today's meeting went very well, all things considered. Amy began by acknowledging their misunderstanding regarding the terms of funding. At the outset, we all detected some skepticism, even resistance, on the part of their polio team. We then followed their agenda of (1) presentation of our overall proposal and budget for polio eradication and peace & health; and (2) discussion of polio eradication in each of the 4 countries. When they heard about our new office in Bahrain, they expressed great interest in cooperating in the region, where they are just beginning work, and then brought in their head of Middle East Relations (recently hired), who's based in London and just happens to be in Seattle, for a brief discussion. In response to our proposal for $5m in 2013 -- i.e., funding activities and expenses for the entire year -- Amy made clear that they could not fund anything retroactively, and that their understanding was funding of $5m over several years. On the brighter side, by the end of the detailed discussion on polio, we felt we'd made great headway in persuading them of IPI's potential to contribute. Several on their polio team emphasized the urgency involved (especially for Pakistan) and their interest in IPI's ability to facilitate and mediate. At the close of the meeting, Amy proposed the following: 1. Their only way to fund on a fast track, she said, was through general operating support (while project grants take much longer for review and approval). She suggested $1 million in general operating support (unrestricted), beginning Oct 1. 2. She then suggested a 2nd proposal to follow for support of polio eradication, peace & health, and (newly added) cooperation in the Middle East for $4m, beginning Jan 1, over 3 years (2014-16). We asked whether the additional $4m could be for 2014 alone, and assured her we could utilize the full amount over the single year. She said they would advise against a timeline of only 1 year, but could consider It. The $1 million of general operating support (effective Oct 1) requires only a brief letter of application, and their approval would come quickly to support urgent work on polio in the last quarter of this year (as well as other work in peace & health). The further request for $4m (effective Jan 1) could be based largely on the proposal we've already prepared, with the addition of the Middle East. The main issue to resolve at this point is the timeline for the additional S4m in project support: for 1 year (2014) or longer. We left it that we would come back to them following further direction from you. EFTA_R1_00432442 EFTA01959363 Best, David EFTA_R1_00432443 EFTA01959364