Bill Gates arrived in Parliament today and, not surprisingly, attracted a large audience when he spoke to a combined meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Groups focusing on development issues.

As a member of the International Development Select committee we had the privilege of our own special briefing when we had the opportunity to find out how his Gates Foundation has made such an impact worldwide.  It is really interesting to hear how a man who for 14 of the last 16 years was the world's richest man and led one of the most influential businesses in the last 50 years decided to devote his time to saving lives across the world - his clinical mathematical mind gives him a unique perspective on what he believes works best.

For him, this is medical vaccinations to stop the horrific impact of disease and improving maternal health. Originally his focus was on stemming population growth but he discovered that investment in basic health rather than focusing soley on family planning was the best way to allow women to make the choice to limit family size

_{Photo top: Matthew Buxton, M.B. Photographic}