The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $750 million in The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.   Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bill Gates announced a $750 million promissory note, allowing the Global Fund to continue its lifesaving programs through 2016 and bringing the Foundation’s total investment in the fund to $ 1.4 billion.   Said Gates: "These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world's poorest. The Global Fund is one of the most effective ways we invest our money every year."   Simon Bland, Chair of The Global Fund’s Board, welcomed the news, saying: “Millions of lives depend on a predictable stream of funding from the Global Fund.  If the funding level stagnates now, the world will not achieve the great goals that are within reach, such as a world where no child is born with HIV, where no one needs to die from malaria, and eventually, a world where all who need it get effective drugs to treat TB and live with HIV.”  Forecast to spend US$10 billion on health programs between 2011 and 2013, The Global Fund needs an additional $2 billion to cover an anticipated shortfall.

(Photo © DR)