Bill Gates and his corporate empire get all kinds of publicity. Often times, especially among many in ebusiness, his some of his practices have left a sour taste to put it mildly. So, when a genuinely wonderful effort comes by for Mr. Gates or more specifically, the Gates Foundation, the opportunity must be taken to praise.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations announced 43 projects to be awarded $437 million dollars in grants from all over the world. The contest to come up with viable projects to advance global health drew in 1500 proposals from 70 countries.
“It’s shocking how little research is directed toward the diseases of the world’s poorest countries,” said Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “By harnessing the world’s capacity for scientific innovation, I believe we can transform health in the developing world and save millions of lives.”
The projects are vast in scope but overall the overall plan is attack the world’s health problems through research and the Foundation believes these projects will advance their goal. The Foundation believes that in the modern 21st century, earth has no valid reason to have people starving and dying from these nasty epidemics like malaria or AIDS. Many of these projects will work on these types of issues.
Many of the projects are designed to combat world hunger. One big staple of 250 million people in many third world countries is the cassava plant. The problem with cassava is it also produces cyanide. If the food isn’t prepared properly, it can be quite toxic. Through good horticulture funded by one of the grants, teams will work to get rid of the cyanide and make the plants more nutritionally sound.
Scientists will also work to cure HIV/AIDs. The destructive virus plagues much of Africa and many other lands. To date, most HIV vaccine candidates have not specifically targeted entry points in the body. The research team will work with collaborators in the U.K. and South Africa to design an HIV vaccine that would be time-released into the vaginal lining through low-cost gels or silicone rings that would be inserted into the vagina.
These are just two areas of many that the Foundation donated grants too. Many of these projects wouldn’t get this much funding if any at all. Most of these projects are getting $20 million or more.
See, despite what many hackers think, Bill Gates isn’t such a bad guy.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
