Gates says poor countries not doomed to stay poor

NEW YORK — Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates pitched an optimistic future for the world’s poor and sick in their annual letter Tuesday, arguing passionately against three myths they say hurt efforts to bring people out of poverty, save lives and improve living conditions.

In their sixth yearly letter, which in the past has focused exclusively on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual activities, the co-chairmen of the world’s largest charitable foundation seek to dispel notions that poor countries are doomed to stay poor, that foreign aid is wasteful and that saving lives will cause overpopulation.