Bill Gates Donates $10 Billion

According to MSNBC, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced that it will donate $10 billion over the next decade in order to research new vaccines and bring them to the world’s poorest countries. Gates reports to MSNBC that he remains undiscouraged that the needs of the poor are greater by the fact the aid which is available to them.

 “We must make this the decade of vaccines,” Gates said. “Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before.”

According to MSNBC, in his second annual letter issued last week, Gates stated that, “investment in science and technology can leverage those dollars and make more of a difference than charity and government aid alone.”  He also stated that the foundation “is backing 30 areas of innovation, including online learning, teacher improvement, malaria vaccine development, HIV prevention, and genetically modified seeds.” 

Notably, since 1994, the foundation has committed to $21.3 billion in grants, and as of Sept. 30, 2009, its endowment totaled $34.17 billion. Gates said that, “Melinda and I see our foundation’s key role as investing in innovations that would not otherwise be funded.”

According to The Washington Post, Gates said that the commitment “more than doubles the $4.5 billion the foundation has given to vaccine research over the years.”
 Furthermore, the foundation said that up to 7.6 million children under five could be saved through 2019 as a result of the donation. Nearly seven pages of the annual letter focus on the foundation’s work in global health. Gates admitted, however,  that the work to reach the foundation’s ambitious goals is harder than was originally expected.  While vaccine development is progressing, the cost to provide those vaccines to the poor is still a problem. Despite having one particular vaccine in a Phase III trial, an effective malaria vaccine is still eight to 15 years away.  The incentives to find an effective vaccine are high, as Gates also estimates that an additional 1.1 million children’s lives would be saved if a malaria vaccine could be introduced by 2014.    

The Washington Post reports that Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organization, called the Gates contribution unprecedented.
Additionally, she urged governments and private donors to contribute to the initiative. “An additional two million deaths in children under five years could be prevented by 2015 through widespread use of new vaccines and a 10 percent increase in global vaccination coverage.” Gates did not specify how the money would be distributed, and a spokeswoman said that those specifics have yet to be decided.