Gates' Foundation Funds $436 Million In Global Health Projects

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the funding of 43 research projects, that will receive a combined US$436 million to implement radical proposals for confronting problems such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, malnutrition, and other world health problems.

The Gates' Foundation identified 14 "grand challenges" .. developing vaccines that do not require refrigeration or needles .. that create immunity in one dose and are safe for newborns .. vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS .. ways to stop insects from spreading diseases .. growing more nutritious staple crops to combat malnutrition .. preventing drug resistance .. methods to treat latent and chronic infections such as hepatitis and tuberculosis .. and finding more accurate ways to diagnose and track diseases.

The Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative was launched in 2003, taking proposals for projects that would be funded for up to US$20 million, for 5 years. The projects involve scientists in 33 countries seeking to create 'deliverable technologies' -- health tools that are effective, inexpensive to produce, easy to distribute, and simple to use in developing countries. Researchers are allowed to patent anything they invent, but they must guarantee that it will be made available to poor countries at low cost or free.

"It's shocking how little research is directed toward the diseases of the world's poorest countries," Bill Gates said. "By harnessing the world's capacity for scientific innovation, I believe we can transform health in the developing world and save millions of lives."

Bill Gates originally committed $200 million to the project but raised that to $450 million when more promising proposals were submitted.