Global Fund provided World Vision's Armenia branch with a $7.2 million grant
Wednesday, August 9, 2006 - Page updated at 08:47 AM
Seattle Times
Gates Foundation giving $500 million to disease-fighting Global Fund
By Kristi Heim Seattle Times business reporter
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is accelerating its efforts to combat diseases that devastate poor countries by granting $500 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The grant, announced this morning, gives the Geneva-based Global Fund $100 million a year over the next five years for programs to prevent infection and provide treatment in 132 countries.
"The Global Fund is one of the most important health initiatives in the world today," Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, said in a statement. "The Fund has an excellent track record, and we need to do everything we can to support its continued success, which will save millions of lives."
HIV/AIDS claims more than three million lives a year, while two million people die annually from tuberculosis and more than a million from malaria, according to the World Health Organization.
The Global Fund said it has provided 544,000 people with HIV/AIDS treatment, 1.4 million people with treatment for tuberculosis and distributed 11 million bed nets to protect children against mosquito-borne malaria.
The Gates Foundation contributed $100 million to the Global Fund in 2001 and $50 million in 2004.
That represents a multifaceted approach taken by the world's largest philanthropic organization, funding both treatment and research toward a vaccine. The foundation is also using grants to try to spur other donors into action and increase overall funding.
Three weeks ago, the Gates Foundation announced a $287 million cash infusion to speed development of AIDS vaccines and promote collaboration among researchers. After the Gates Foundation gave $1.5 billion in grants to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations, including $750 million last year, five European countries contributed an additional $4 billion.
"This is a funding model that works, and the need is great," Melinda Gates said of the Global Fund. "We hope all donors – public and private, large and small – will step up their support and make long-term commitments."
In addition to funding government health programs in developing countries around the world, Global Fund also supports foundations such as World Vision, an international Christian relief organization with U.S. headquarters in Federal Way.
It provided World Vision's Armenia branch with a $7.2 million grant and World Vision Somalia with a $5.6 million grant.
The Gates Foundation's pledge to Global Fund comes days before the 16th International AIDS Conference begins in Toronto, a biennial meeting to assess the global situation and set priorities. Bill and Melinda Gates will speak at the opening ceremony of the conference Sunday.
Kristi Heim: 206-464-2718 or kheim@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Seattle Times
Gates Foundation giving $500 million to disease-fighting Global Fund
By Kristi Heim Seattle Times business reporter
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is accelerating its efforts to combat diseases that devastate poor countries by granting $500 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The grant, announced this morning, gives the Geneva-based Global Fund $100 million a year over the next five years for programs to prevent infection and provide treatment in 132 countries.
"The Global Fund is one of the most important health initiatives in the world today," Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, said in a statement. "The Fund has an excellent track record, and we need to do everything we can to support its continued success, which will save millions of lives."
HIV/AIDS claims more than three million lives a year, while two million people die annually from tuberculosis and more than a million from malaria, according to the World Health Organization.
The Global Fund said it has provided 544,000 people with HIV/AIDS treatment, 1.4 million people with treatment for tuberculosis and distributed 11 million bed nets to protect children against mosquito-borne malaria.
The Gates Foundation contributed $100 million to the Global Fund in 2001 and $50 million in 2004.
That represents a multifaceted approach taken by the world's largest philanthropic organization, funding both treatment and research toward a vaccine. The foundation is also using grants to try to spur other donors into action and increase overall funding.
Three weeks ago, the Gates Foundation announced a $287 million cash infusion to speed development of AIDS vaccines and promote collaboration among researchers. After the Gates Foundation gave $1.5 billion in grants to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations, including $750 million last year, five European countries contributed an additional $4 billion.
"This is a funding model that works, and the need is great," Melinda Gates said of the Global Fund. "We hope all donors – public and private, large and small – will step up their support and make long-term commitments."
In addition to funding government health programs in developing countries around the world, Global Fund also supports foundations such as World Vision, an international Christian relief organization with U.S. headquarters in Federal Way.
It provided World Vision's Armenia branch with a $7.2 million grant and World Vision Somalia with a $5.6 million grant.
The Gates Foundation's pledge to Global Fund comes days before the 16th International AIDS Conference begins in Toronto, a biennial meeting to assess the global situation and set priorities. Bill and Melinda Gates will speak at the opening ceremony of the conference Sunday.
Kristi Heim: 206-464-2718 or kheim@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
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