14 DAY TRIAL // The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has identified the number-one priority of its philanthropic efforts, and in doing so pledged no less than $10 billion for vaccines. According to the Foundation, increased funding of vaccination worldwide could end up saving in excess of eight million children from death by 2020. The $10 billion pledged by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be used to sponsor the research efforts as well as the development and delivery of vaccines to the world’s poorest countries over the next ten years.
“We must make this the decade of vaccines,” Bill Gates revealed. “Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before.” The end goal of childhood immunization programs around the globe, but especially in third-world markets is to reduce child mortality. However, Gates underlined that $10 billion over the next decade are simply not enough money, and that governments and members of the private sector also need to chip in.
“Vaccines are a miracle—with just a few doses, they can prevent deadly diseases for a lifetime,” Melinda Gates added. “We’ve made vaccines our number-one priority at the Gates Foundation because we’ve seen firsthand their incredible impact on children’s lives.”
At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, the Gates estimated that as much as 7.6 million children could be saved by 2019 through the introduction of vaccines against severe diarrhea and pneumonia. An additional 1.1 million children under five could get a chance at a normal life if a malaria vaccine will be available to them by 2014.
“Investments in global immunization have yielded an extraordinary return,” Julian Lob-Levyt, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, said. “The GAVI Alliance was founded just 10 years ago and has already saved 5 million lives by increasing access to immunization in the world’s poorest countries. The potential to make bigger strides in the coming decade is even more exciting.”