Victor Roncea Blog

The decision of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to devote 10 billiondollars to vaccine research, development and delivery in the next tenyears has drawn a warm response.
Diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria lead to the death of 5million children worldwide annually, mostly in low-income countries,because those who need vaccines do not have access to them. The GatesFoundation seeks to eradicate this global inequity.
Orin Levine, executive director of the International Vaccine AccessCenter (IVAC), pointed out that the “announcement is a major boost forglobal health and vaccines.”
He said: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has once again set thebar for results-driven aid. By aiming at pneumonia, diarrhea, andmalaria, the funding will save millions of lives.
“But the Gates Foundation cannot achieve the full promise of vaccineson its own. Manufacturers must increase their investments in vaccineresearch and development, donor countries must mobilize to help fundnew vaccines, and developing countries must make the investments andtake the steps necessary for delivering life-saving vaccines to theirchildren.”
Levine added: “Now more than ever and in light of the opportunitiesprovided by the Gates Foundation’s commitment, we urge all parties towork together to ensure access to life saving vaccines to those whoneed them worldwide.” (ANI)

Over the past 10 years, the Microsoft co-founder’s charity hascommitted $4.5 billion to vaccines and has been instrumental inestablishing the GAVI alliance, a public-private partnership thatchannels money for vaccines in poor countries.
By increasing immunization coverage in developing countries to 90percent, it should be possible to prevent the deaths of 7.6 millionchildren under five between 2010 and 2019, Gates told reporters at theWorld Economic Forum.
Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organizationdescribed Gates’ commitment to vaccines as “unprecedented” and calledon governments around the world and the private sector to match it with”unprecedented action.”
Vaccination rates have already climbed remarkably in recent years,with even a poor African country like Malawi now boasting coveragerates similar to those in many Western cities.
“Over the last 10 years, the success of both increased vaccinecoverage and getting new vaccines out has been phenomenal,” Gates said.
More cash is now needed to make the most of new vaccines becomingavailable, including ones against severe diarrhea and pneumococcaldisease from GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Pfizer.
“We can take immunization to the next level, with the expandeduptake of new vaccines against major killers such as pneumonia androtavirus diarrhea,” Chan said in a statement.
She said an extra two million deaths in children under five could beprevented by 2015 by widespread use of new vaccines and a 10 percentincrease in global immunization coverage.
Further off, Glaxo is also in the final phase of testing a vaccineagainst malaria that Gates said could slash deaths from themosquito-borne disease.
Gates warned against the risk of governments diverting foreign aidfunding for health toward climate change, arguing that health shouldstay a top priority — not least because better health leads to a lowerbirth rate.
Curbing the globe’s population growth is critical for tackling global warming.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler, additional reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Jon Boyle)