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$258 million to combat malaria

James Meikle— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

It is a disgrace that the world has allowed deaths to double, says Bill Gates

SEATTLE: Microsoft chairman Bill Gates on Sunday night gave $258 million to the fight against malaria, branding the rich world's efforts in tackling the disease ``a disgrace''.

The grant is equivalent to more than three-quarters of global spending on research into the disease last year, according to a report published simultaneously by the Malaria Research and Development Alliance (MRDA). Malaria causes an estimated 500 million bouts of illness a year, kills an African child every 30 seconds, and costs an estimated $12 billion a year in lost income. But the MRDA report stated that global spending on malaria research last year totalled $323 million, about a tenth of the funding that would be needed to match its 3 per cent share of the global disease burden.

Millions affected

Mr Gates said the world had failed to fight the ``all-out war'' on the disease.

``For too long malaria has been a forgotten epidemic,'' he said. ``It's a disgrace that the world has allowed malaria deaths to double in the last 20 years, when so much more could have been done to stop the disease.

``Millions of children have died from malaria because they were not protected by an insecticide-treated bed net or did not receive effective treatment. If we can expand malaria control programmes and invest what is needed in research and development we can stop this tragedy.'' Trials of a vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline and the Gates-supported Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) have been encouraging. Results from Mozambique last year suggested vaccinated children between the ages of one and four were 30 per cent less likely to need treatment for serious malariaand nearly 60 per cent less likely to suffer potentially fatal episodes. Now plans are under way to widen the trials.

The new funds donated by Mr. Gates include a further $107 million to the MVI. Its director, Melinda Moree, said: ``We are advancing this vaccine through final testing in the hope it will be available to save lives as soon as possible.''

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