In a sign of Bill Gates’ determination to eradicate disease and the power of philanthropy to fill the gaps left by cash-strapped countries, the Gates Foundation has said it was giving $1 billion to vaccine distribution at the first annual Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization conference, more than any other attendee. Some $4.3 billion has been pledged so far, with the UK pledging £814 million of new funding up to 2015, the US pledging about $450 million, Brazil and Japan pledging money for the first time, and Australia increasing its commitment tenfold.The Gates Foundation, on which Gates now spends nearly all of his time, has assets worth $37.1 billion, thanks in part to contributions of shares from his mentor, Warren Buffett. The goal is to give it all away, he explained recently in a quirky interview with the Daily Mail:’I want a malaria vaccine. If we get one then we'll have to find the money to give it to everyone, but the impact would be so huge we would find a way. Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied. What I'm doing now involves understanding maths, risk-taking. The first half of my life was good preparation for the second half.'
Gates was always described as a geek, but that seems terribly unfair in the wider context of the passions that now drive him. As I stand to leave, he laughs the label off.
'Hey, if being a geek means you're willing to take a 400-page book on vaccines and where they work and where they don't, and you go off and study that and you use that to challenge people to learn more, then absolutely. I'm a geek. I plead guilty. Gladly.’The conference began with good news from major drug companies GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Crucell and Sanofi-Aventis, which all offered to slash prices on vaccines that they supply to Gavi, including a rotavirus and a pentavalent vaccine, which protects against Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) disease; Diphtheria; Pertussis; Tetanus and Hepatitis-B. These can help drastically reduce the levels of childhood mortality by protecting against diarrhoea and pneumonia, which together lead to nearly 40 per cent of deaths of people under five years old.Gavi has already vaccinated 288 million children in 19 countries and now wants to extend the vaccines to another 26 countries. By 2015, it says, it can immunize 243 million more children. But experts say more cooperation from the drug companies is needed, along with continued contributions expected from the Microsoft founder, of course, which are expected to reach $10 billion over the next decade. Just a little something to keep in mind next time you bash Windows.
Advertisement