America’s main man is not only the richest, he will also wipe out Polio forever. Yes, our main man Bill Gates. I have a hard time remembering to take out the trash. This guy makes it hard for all guys to be compared to. He is betting money, reputation, energy and pretty much all his resources on ending Polio from existing. What a man! He is challenging world leaders to finish the job before the disease rises again.

Most of us gratefully have not seen this disease recently because it is under control in advanced civilizations. The polio vaccine is given to all children as we take them to their regularly scheduled appointments. However, in an interview, Gates warns, that outbreaks in Nigeria, Tajikistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo provide a “scary” reminder that decades of progress will be lost without sustained action.

India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan are now the only countries that have active transmission of the disease. Gates says the biggest threat to the success of the Global Polio Eradication initiative in those countries and elsewhere is a $720 million funding shortfall for this year and next. He is putting the full weight of his influence on the line to rally world leaders to wipe out the disease.

Recently Gates traveled to the United Arab Emirates to meet with Pakistani ministers and seal a $17million partnership with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, to fund polio vaccinations. He also traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and met with British Prime Minister David Cameron who announced he would give about $62 million from Britain for the cause. In addition, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to boost its $200 million annual contribution by $102 million this year.

Where are the news stories everyday about this guy? I don’t care about Charlie Sheen. Where is the movie about this guy? I don’t care about the Facebook guy who fought with his classmates over a friending idea. Bill Gates is proving again to be society’s rock star. No, he is better than a rock star. Most rock stars did not do any good for the world with their fame and fortune. This guy is trying to eradicate a major disease. GIVE HIM CREDIT

Polio is a disease that will kill or paralyze you. We should be thankful that in our lifetime there is a vaccine that has been proven to stop this disease. Now children in the USA are at risk again because of the rumor spread by ONE doctor that vaccines can cause autism. So, now we have fearful parents in this country who don’t vaccinate their children. “If you increase the number of unvaccinated children, you increase the chance that the virus will find new subjects.” says David Oshinsky, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Polio: An American Story.”

In 1988, when the global polio eradication effort was launched, the disease killed or paralyzed 350,000 children a year worldwide. By last year, the total dropped to fewer than 1,500, says Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization. Bill Gates is finishing the work that co-founder Franklin Delano Roosevelt started with the March of Dimes many years ago. Bill Gates is not a famous President but he may be as famous for eradicating Polio as much as he is famous for founding Microsoft and his Windows empire.