Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports all of the American states and the International community started funding since 1994. In fact, the foundation has ranked first in the list of top 100 US foundations by asset size. The list was released by the Foundation Center. As of 2009, the foundation had assets of $33,912,320,600.
Just this March 2011, another school benefited from the foundation’s grantmaking programs. The University of Cape Town was awarded with an amount of $7,567,425. The grant was awarded because of the university’s purpose to support a longitudinal cohort study of children in South Africa to evaluate the number, severity, and etiology of respiratory diseases. This is in line with developing the capacity for a larger birth cohort and evaluating the potential effect modifiers that may influence the incidence and severity of acute lower respiratory infections. The focus of the project, pneumonia and flu, falls under the Global Health Program of the top foundation.
According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, their Global Health Program harnesses advance in science and technology to save lives in poor countries. They focus on the health problems that have a major impact in developing countries but receive too little attention and funding. Where proven tools exist, the foundation supports sustainable ways to improve their delivery. Where they don’t, it invests in research and development of new interventions such as vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics.
Since the project of the University of Cape Town falls under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s priority areas of focus, it draws attention from the Global Health advisory panel.
Now, one thing is for sure. Many children in South Africa will benefit from this project. The number of children that may suffer from pneumonia and flu will diminish because of the university’s effort and foundation’s belief in the value of every life.
Source: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx
