| ■ Mother, Child Health New Focus for Gates Foundation | 2010.06.11 |
| Mother and child health, family planning and nutrition programs in developing countries are going to be a new focus for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Over the next five years, the foundation will spend $1.5 billion in these areas, The New York Times reported. Much of that money will go to programs in India, Ethiopia and other countries where mothers and children have relatively high death rates, according to Melinda Gates. Pregnancy and childbirth often "end in tragedy" in poor countries, but most of those deaths could be prevented at a "stunningly" low cost, she said in a speech Monday at the Women Deliver conference in Washington, D.C. "The world must come together to save women's and children's lives," Gates said. Until now, the foundation's health efforts have centered on infectious diseases, vaccines and HIV/AIDS. The foundation has assets of $35.2 billion and has spent $10 billion on global health projects, The Times reported. |