Closing the Health Gap

Every 10 seconds, a child in Africa dies from illnesses that could have been prevented. Worldwide, millions of people die each year from diseases such as malaria and hepatitis B, which are virtually unheard of—or long eradicated—in wealthy nations. Yet of all the world’s medical research spending, only 10 percent is devoted to diseases that cause 90 percent of the world’s health burden. Many of these diseases are neglected by traditional research and development approaches because those most in need of these new technologies are the poorest consumers in the world.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is working to close the health gap between people living in rich and poor countries, and to ensure that lifesaving advances are created and shared with those who need them most. Last April, the Global Health staff refined its grantmaking strategy to include three primary approaches: Build - research and develop new tools and technologies to fight disease in the developing world; Prove - test innovative methods in the field to see if they are workable and cost-effective; and Sustain - work with other partners to ensure long-term funding and support for proven health interventions.

HIGHLIGHTS

• World Economic Forum. Along with U2’s Bono, Bill Gates called on leaders to increase global health spending. At the same event, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced $50 million in grants to promote HIV/AIDS prevention.
• President Carter and Bill Gates, Sr. in Africa. A joint mission to three African countries—South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya—highlighted the urgent need for measures to fight HIV/AIDS.
• GAIN. While addressing the United Nations Special Session on Children, Bill Gates announced a $50 million commitment to support the formation of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition to reduce vitamin and mineral deficiencies among children in developing nations.
• Malaria Vaccine Candidate. The Malaria Vaccine Initiative launched a clinical trial in Mozambique to further evaluate a promising malaria vaccine candidate that could protect children from the world’s deadliest tropical disease.
• Protecting Children. The Vaccine Fund increased access to newer and underused vaccines, and now reaches 60 countries worldwide.
• Lymphatic Filariasis. The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, of which the foundation is a partner, helped treat more than 2.5 million people in 38 countries to date. The Alliance hopes to eliminate the disease by 2020.
• Neonatal Tetanus. The Global Campaign to Eliminate Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) has protected 15 million women from tetanus to date, which is estimated to have saved 15,000 newborn lives. By accelerating its efforts to immunize women of child-bearing age, UNICEF and its partners are committed to eliminating MNT by 2005.
• Schistosomiasis. The foundation committed $30 million to establish the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative to provide health education in the most heavily infected regions of Africa and treat victims of this parasitic disease that affects more than 200 million people in developing countries.
• India AIDS Initiative. Bill Gates announced a $100 million initial commitment to help prevent the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in the world’s second-most populous nation. The major new initiative targets mobile and vulnerable populations within India.
• Contraception. The foundation announced a series of grants worth $45.7 million to fund the research and development of new approaches to contraception and disease prevention.