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| Bill Gates Fights to End Malaria |
| 2005-11-05 |
| Code named GDS2005... The world's richest man, Bill Gates, believes it is possible to completely wipe out malaria that kills thousands every day but gets comparatively little attention because it mostly affects poor countries. 'The fact that all these kids are dying, over 2,000 a day. That's terrible. If it was happening in rich countries, we'd act,' said the software billionaire _ who has acted by pledging $258.3 million recently for the development of new drugs, a vaccine and better protection against mosquitos. 'Biology has improved, so the chance of having new medicines and vaccines are stronger today than ever,' Gates said in an interview for ABC's 'This Week' to be aired Sunday. 'And yet because the people who need these medicines can't afford them, we haven't put the resources of the world behind us,' said the top philanthropist who has provided about $6 billion over the last five years for various causes and projects. The largest chunk, $107.6 million, of the new funds to battle malaria will go to develop an experimental malaria vaccine and will cover the completion of testing in Africa and the licensing process, should the vaccine prove viable. A study in Mozambique has found the vaccine cut the risk of severe malaria among young children by 58 percent. A group working to accelerate the development of affordable drugs, the Medicines for Malaria Venture, will get $100 million. The rest will go to developing better pesticides and bed nets against the disease-spreading mosquitos. In the United States, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focuses on education and scholarships. But globally 'We learned about these health issues, we realized that that's where you can make a huge change,' he said. 'With our foundation, with others ... we're getting the brightest scientists to come and work on these problems,' Gates added. But can the stubborn, age-old infection be fully eradicated? 'Absolutely. It's not going to happen overnight, and we should take the tools we have today and get those applied, because we can save half the lives just that way,' Gates told George Stephanopoulos, a former White House aide and now an ABC anchor. 'With breakthroughs that will come over the next two decades, yes, we can make malaria in the whole world like it is in the United States today, something that we just don't have to worry about,' said Gates. So will he be remembered more for the work on global health than for Microsoft, Stephanopoulos asked? 'I don't care whether I'm remembered ... empowering people with the Internet and PCs is my lifetime's work. That's my job.' Evil bastard. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #11 I hadn't heard that there was anything approaching a useful vaccine. The search for a malaria vaccine has been a black hole for money (The Malaria Capers by Desowitz) with only a toxic brew for results. The BBC reported last April that there was something with 30% effectiveness, but that's not much different from earlier work. |
| Posted by: James 2005-11-05 23:15 |
| #10 OP your right about Africa, no saving it, but it sure would be nice to have a Malaria shot before deployment like a Tetanus. It could really help the troops. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-11-05 18:03 |
| #9 One thing is certain: He ain't Soros. |
| Posted by: Regnad Kcin 2005-11-05 17:30 |
| #8 In the movie Tears of the Sun, Bruce Willis stars as Lt. Waters, a Navy S.E.A.L officer, sent into a war-torn country in Africa to rescue a U.S. citizen. In the midst of tremendous suffering, torture and murder, a priest says: "Go with God". Waters pessimistically replies: "God has left Africa!" I believe he may be right. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-05 15:05 |
| #7 It's a worthy cause and a noble ambition, but doomed to failure. The real cause of malaria's role in Africa is much the same as is AIDS - grinding poverty, corrupt governments, and rampant tribalism. Malaria used to be a worldwide problem. The disease was rampant in South and Central America, and even threatened people in the Gulf Coast areas. It was one of the biggest non-military killers of US troops in the Pacific during World War II. My father-in-law still has bouts with his, which he contracted in India. Yet today the disease is primarily known for infecting - and killing - Africans. The Congo alone has more malaria-related deaths than the rest of the entire world, yet there's no nation on earth with more abundant natural resources. The best solutions to the problems of Africa are education, employment, personal pride, and a sense of belonging. Lack of muslim interference would help a lot, too (I.E., Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, etc.). Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe is a great example of what NOT to do. If Bill Gates would supply as much money on education, training, fighting for personal property rights, and development of cooperative enterprises, the malaria problem would disapear, along with quite a few other primarily-African problems. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2005-11-05 14:02 |
| #6 I thought Al Gore invented those...and malaria too |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-11-05 13:10 |
| #5 If you can read this, thank Bill Gates. Because Gates invented TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, HTML, and GUI! |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-11-05 12:00 |
| #4 If you can read this, thank Bill Gates. If you can read this and your business or flat has not been burned to the ground by raging, shithead muzzies... thank a soldier! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-05 10:03 |
| #3 Good for him, its nice to see he's not focusing on stupid crap like most do. Any advances in this area will have a global effect. I hope he continues with it until it's complete. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-11-05 08:53 |
| #2 The quickest, cheapest and most effective way to reduce malaria is to spray houses with DDT and use DDT impregnated mosquito nets. And I did not even mention the widespread environmental application of DDT that developed countries used to defeat malaria. Ignoring the most effective weapon against a disease that kills 3 million people, disproportionately children, each year is extremely PC. I say use some of that money to build a DDT manufacturing and packaging facility in Africa and sell the insecticide. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-11-05 08:09 |
| #1 I'm no fan of Gates or Microsoft, but credit is due to him, because he hasn't pushed his money at PC issues, but has concentrated on real healthcare issues like malaria. Yep, he's an evil bastard, but that doesn't mean he can't do good with his gains. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-11-05 07:13 |