Global philanthropist Bill Gates, who will be keynoting the USGLC’s 2011 Tribute Dinner tomorrow evening, appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central last night. Gates talked about a current project of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: eradication of polio worldwide.

Gates released his 2011 annual letter yesterday, in which he said polio has been eliminated from much of the developed world, but is still prevalent in countries such as Nigeria, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Gates said the U.S. government, despite the economic situation, has an important role to play in global health efforts. “I hope the U.S. government, even with all the challenges, wants to see the polio campaign through.” He pointed to the example of the UK, where David Cameron’s government was able to balance the budget without cutting humanitarian assistance.

Gates also spoke about the role of the U.S. International Affairs budget in helping improve our standing abroad. “At the end of the day, you want to have aid that people feel helped them, with their childhood health or disease,” he said, “That’s the stuff I think has the best chance of showing people we are very generous, that we want to help.”

Watch the clip at the 4 minute mark: