*though i hate his monopoly but not too bad

Sarah Boseley
Tuesday January 25, 2005
The Guardian


Bill Gates and his wife Melinda cuddle Samuel Baltazar (right) and Ires Mahnica during a visit to the Manhica Health Research Centre in Mozambique in 2003. Photograph: Juda Ngwenya/Reuters


Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, has given $750m, his biggest ever donation, to an alliance dedicated to ending deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases among the poorest children in the world.
The gift, which is announced today, ranks as one of the largest donations made by a living philanthropist. It goes to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi), which Mr Gates helped to set up in 2000.
It brings the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's donations to Gavi to more than $1.5bn (£800m). "We can say very strongly that we have never made a better investment," said Mr Gates, named by Forbes magazine as the richest man in the world and worth an estimated $46bn.
The Norwegian government announced a grant of $290m at the same time, bringing Gavi's new money to more than $1bn.
In an interview with the Guardian at Microsoft's Seattle headquarters, Mr and Mrs Gates said they hoped other governments would put in funds to reach the target set by the World Health Organisation of $8bn-$12bn over 10 years, which would allow more than 90% of the world's children to receive immunisation by 2015.
"Today, a child's access to life-saving vaccines too often depends on where he or she lives in the world, and that's unacceptable," Mrs Gates said.
"Vaccines taken for granted in rich countries still don't get to millions of children in the developing world. It's time for donors, both public and private, to dramatically step up their efforts to close the immunisation gap."

Mr Gates called for more governments to help, and praised the UK. "I'm very excited about the leadership they are providing. The prime minister had a piece that he wrote that talked about Africa and its challenges as one of the top priorities. It is pretty novel that the leader of a developed country is giving top priority to this issue."
He also praised the international finance facility (IFF) proposed by the chancellor, Gordon Brown, to raise money to alleviate poverty and disease in poor countries. Gavi is expected to be the pilot project for the IFF. Government-backed bonds will be floated on financial markets to raise money for vaccines and research.
"It would provide a lot of the additional funding Gavi needs to achieve its very ambitious goals, saving 10 million lives," said Mr Gates.
Gavi is is an alliance of governments, UN agencies, NGOs, foundations and other institutions, which works to bring routine and new vaccines to children in the developing world. Some 27 million children are not immunised each year, which in 2002 was estimated to have resulted in 2.1 million deaths from diseases that have disappeared in the west, such as diphtheria, measles and tetanus.

Special reports
Microsoft
SocietyGuardian.co.uk: international aid and development

Related articles
25.01.2005: $7.5bn: the donation story so far
25.01.2005: Dream of eradicating disease that drives the world's richest man
25.01.2005: In Mozambique, vaccination programme gets off to a roaring start

Useful links
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Global Alliance for Vaccines & Immunisation
World Health Organisation
Bill Gates' Microsoft website

[size=3]It may seem off topic a bit, but this is a serious question.
Does anyone know if Gates has any association with the Eurogenics movement in America?

Before I start jumping up and down and saying "what a great chap", I want to dig deeper into that little word called motives.

Wealthy citizens (e.g. people like the Rockefellers) have used their great wealth to fund/support 'projects/research' in the so-called Third World, (and at home) lauded for their humanaterian aims but which were little more than a cover for more sinister aims.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth, they say. But you sure as hell should checked out it's associations.

Respect

@Backatya

though I am technically anti-big corporations like microsoft but I personally know that most of his money that he donated through his Bill and Melinda Gates foundation back in 2000 made huge impact in Tanzania where the leading killer disease in Malaria and not HIV/AIDS

that money was mainly directed to prevention on malaria and in the end it made a huge impact till present.Now tell me about those blacks artists/entertainers we see on MTV showing us their cribs on what they have done to save a life.The same applies to Rockefeller and Sasakawa global who are heavily involved in Agricutural and education projects in developing countries..as far as I know Barack Obama's dad got a rockefeller scholarship from Kenya to the states to further his studies.

[size=3]
@ Coltrane
Whilst I hear what you are saying, I had in mind the kind of stuff that is outside the PR, news headline stuff you get to hear about the 'good works' of these people.

Not for one moment was I suggesting that it means these monies do not serve ANY worthwhile causes, just that there is a wider picture that needs to be looked at to put all these things into context.

Don't start me on Rockefeller now, these message boxes have not got enough room to go into the practices of those associated with that 'well respected' name.
I don't know enough about Bill Gates so I am not ready to paint him as either Saint or Devil just yet. But I will certainly do my research before I say anything against.

Respect

then you better go through this

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/default.htm

mind you his money goes straight to UNDP and WHO and from there its distributed

all in all giving is better than showing them cribs on MTV while you cant even take kids to school in your local area

something is better than nothing so i hope that the moeny is channeled in the right direction. i didnt know the gates family donated to useful causes

[size=3]
Coltrane
You seem to be intent on trumpetted on about 'cribs on MTV'. Not only don't I watch that channel and the stuff it spews out, but the kind of people you are going on about probably play zero part in the Global scheme of things, being as they are wrapped up with all their bling, bling and 20 cars.
Personally, though they do little or nothing for 'worthwhile causes' they antics do not register on my radar as much as the real movers and shakers who have the means, the capacity and the 'intent' to impact (quite significantly) on my life and the life of my people.

My concern is not with comparing the deeds of MTV crib crews with those of Bill Gates and other wealthy benefactors. I am more concern with understanding where people are coming from with their great benevolent acts. There is very little I take on face value.

But hey, I am not faulting you for being impressed by it, just giving my view is all.

Respect

@Backatya

today some children in rural Kenya will get polio vacines bought by money that Bill gates donated isnt that a good thing?

COLTRANE wrote:
[size=3]
Actually bro, I can't say at this stage. I don't know enough about it. Look, you and I obviously assess things on a different basis, but that's cool. I just don't look at the giving of large sums of money as a good thing per se without knowing more about what lies behind it. Sure it may well be an EXCELLENT thing but I don't have any way of reaching that judgement at this moment.
Mind you considering the part that 'Polio Vacination' played in the outbreak of Aids in Africa, I am not so quick to jump up and down on that one. Hey, but as I said we assess things differently.

Respect

some went to Malaria treatment in Tanzania which is mainly caused my mosquitos called anopholes and some money went towards education initiatives in Bangladesh