Gates cash kick-starts US$31 bln TB drive

DAVOS – Bill Gates pledged on Friday to triple the funding for eradicating tuberculosis as the World Economic Forum took aim at eradicating and containing illness.

Gates, Chairman of Microsoft Corp, joined British treasury chief Gordon Brown to announce the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis, an initiative for funding efforts against the disease in the developing world. Funding health care initiatives, at least with private money, has been problematic, Gates said.”In health, there’s real problems in that the people who have these diseases don’t have the money to justify the investment,” he said at a seminar with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.Some 15 million people die prematurely annually because of a lack of drugs.He said his Gates Foundation would triple the amount of money it has dedicated to TB research from US$300 million (about N$1 800 million) now to US$900 million (about N$5 500 million) by 2015.Tuberculosis has reached alarming proportions in Africa and other poor countries, where co-infection with HIV-AIDS makes a deadly combination.”This is a very tough disease.It is going to take all of us – private sector, the pharmaceutical companies, philanthropy and governments in countries that have the disease – to participate as well,” Gates told reporters .Nigeria’s Obasanjo and Britain’s Brown called on world leaders to back the new World Health Organisation action plan, which aims to treat 50 million people and prevent 14 million deaths worldwide over the next 10 years.WHO believes the project can break the back of tuberculosis globally but full implementation would cost an estimated US$56 billion (about N$N$336 billion) over the next decade.That represents an overall increase of US$31 billion over currently projected funding.Brown intends to put the case for new cash to fight the disease to next month’s meeting of G8 finance ministers in Moscow.”If 2005 was the year of commitments, 2006 must be the year of delivery,” he said.- Nampa-APFunding health care initiatives, at least with private money, has been problematic, Gates said.”In health, there’s real problems in that the people who have these diseases don’t have the money to justify the investment,” he said at a seminar with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.Some 15 million people die prematurely annually because of a lack of drugs.He said his Gates Foundation would triple the amount of money it has dedicated to TB research from US$300 million (about N$1 800 million) now to US$900 million (about N$5 500 million) by 2015.Tuberculosis has reached alarming proportions in Africa and other poor countries, where co-infection with HIV-AIDS makes a deadly combination.”This is a very tough disease.It is going to take all of us – private sector, the pharmaceutical companies, philanthropy and governments in countries that have the disease – to participate as well,” Gates told reporters .Nigeria’s Obasanjo and Britain’s Brown called on world leaders to back the new World Health Organisation action plan, which aims to treat 50 million people and prevent 14 million deaths worldwide over the next 10 years.WHO believes the project can break the back of tuberculosis globally but full implementation would cost an estimated US$56 billion (about N$N$336 billion) over the next decade.That represents an overall increase of US$31 billion over currently projected funding.Brown intends to put the case for new cash to fight the disease to next month’s meeting of G8 finance ministers in Moscow.”If 2005 was the year of commitments, 2006 must be the year of delivery,” he said.- Nampa-AP