Gates Foundation to give $200M for solutions to most prevalent diseases
From Tuesday, January 28, 2003
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is giving $200M for an international competition meant to encourage scientists to find solutions for the leading causes of death in developing countries according to this New York Times story (registration required):
The aim is to save many of the millions of lives lost each year to malaria, tuberculosis, malnutrition and other pressing health problems, Mr. Gates said in announcing the grant yesterday at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In speaking there, Mr. Gates, the founder of
Microsoft , underscored the effects of poor health in stifling the economies of developing countries.In creating the grant, Mr. Gates said he had been inspired by the success of a German, David Hilbert, who challenged his fellow mathematicians in 1900 to solve 23 problems over the next century. Dr. Hilbert's challenge led to mathematical breakthroughs, opened up fields of study and contributed to the development of computers.