Gates Foundation pledges $75M to fund network of disease surveillance centers in developing nations

[Shawn Knight]

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding the development of a disease surveillance network in Africa and Asia with an initial contribution of up to $75 million.

The project is designed to gather useful data in a timely manner about how, where and why children are getting sick and dying which can be used by the global health community to help prevent unnecessary deaths. Much of the money will be used to update laboratory infrastructure and train staff.

In a statement on the matter, Bill Gates said the world needs better, more timely public health data not only to prepare for the next epidemic but to save children’s lives now. He added that deaths of children in developing countries has been dramatically reduced over the past 15 years but more definitive data is needed to ensure the trend continues for the next 15 years.

Additionally, the network – known as the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network, or CHAMPS – could be repurposed quickly in the event of an epidemic such as Ebola or SARS to help provide capacity and training to local medical staff to contain an outbreak.

The first step will be to launch six locations throughout Asia and Africa in areas with high childhood mortality rates where workers will collect biopsies of children that have passed away. Gates told The Atlantic that he hopes to open 20 centers with financial assistance from partners that’ll eventually be brought on.

Photo via Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/60605-gates-foundation-pledges-75m-fund-network-disease-surveillance.html

 

[VitalyT]

Yeah, we really need to find out just how exactly AIDS have spread through the entire African continent, up-close and personally.

I believe investing that money into a medical research is a better way to spend it, because in the world of 7bn people even the laziest of bacteria finds a way to mutate and bite you on the arse.

Also, I think these guys nailed it, and quite a while ago...

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Yeah, we really need to find out just how exactly AIDS have spread through the entire African continent, up-close and personally.

I believe investing that money into a medical research is a better way to spend it, because in the world of 7bn people even the laziest of bacteria finds a way to mutate and bite you on the arse.

Also, I think these guys nailed it, and quite a while ago...

If you know it's AIDS that's killing the kids, then call Bill and tell him, it'll save him $75 mil. Sounds like they dont' know what's exactly causing the trouble, which is why..."The first step will be to launch six locations throughout Asia and Africa in areas with high childhood mortality rates where workers will collect biopsies of children that have passed away."

Why hasn't this guy won a Nobel prize or something yet.

 

[VitalyT]

Why hasn't this guy won a Nobel prize or something yet.

This guy only spends a fraction of his unlimited wealth on charity. Where do you think the rest of it is going? Nobel prizes go to people for their personal achievements, not to someone spreading the money because he can afford it.

It's like saying, give me 80bn, I will happily spend the rest of my life on philanthropic stuff. But why on earth would it make someone think that I deserve a Nobel prize for this? Not a frickin chance.

 

[treeski]

This guy only spends a fraction of his unlimited wealth on charity. Where do you think the rest of it is going? Nobel prizes go to people for their personal achievements, not to someone spreading the money because he can afford it.

It's like saying, give me 80bn, I will happily spend the rest of my life on philanthropic stuff. But why on earth would it make someone think that I deserve a Nobel prize for this? Not a frickin chance.

You realize that Bill and Malinda Gates are committed to giving away 95% of their wealth by the time they die?

 

[VitalyT]

You realize that Bill and Malinda Gates are committed to giving away 95% of their wealth by the time they die?

If they were to give away 95% of their wealth while they are alive, I would be surprised. Any other interpretation of just before they die, or after they die is the same as keeping the money up until the moment they got no personal use for it.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

This guy only spends a fraction of his unlimited wealth on charity. Where do you think the rest of it is going? Nobel prizes go to people for their personal achievements, not to someone spreading the money because he can afford it.
.

So the billions he spends isn't worth recognition because he still has more? Maybe the theory is that if he keeps a few billion, he can make a few billion more and then spend twice as much or more helping people. You can't magically spend a whole ton of money and solve a whole pile of problems over night. If you could, we'd just write the trillion dollar check for a cancer cure and be done with it.
Nobel prizes don't go to people for achievements, they go to people with influence. You've heard of Al Gore?

 

[agb81]

Why hasn't this guy won a Nobel prize or something yet.

This guy only spends a fraction of his unlimited wealth on charity. Where do you think the rest of it is going? Nobel prizes go to people for their personal achievements, not to someone spreading the money because he can afford it.

The guy wants to get the best bang for the buck he is donating, that's why he isn't throwing buckets and buckets of money at the problem.

They are giving grants on different fronts. From 3rd world sustainable tech to illness eradication and yet, it is not meaningful because he's not investing 100% of his money? That's a monochromatic view.

 

[VitalyT]

I'm not not criticizing the guy. I think what he does is very good. Most have done much worse with the money they had. But I like calling it for what it is, and not what it's not. Being charitable is very easy for uber-reach people, it is only the effectiveness from money thrown that may raise questions sometimes - is it because they made a poor decision or they just didn't really care.

 

[Puiu]

I'm not not criticizing the guy. I think what he does is very good. Most have done much worse with the money they had. But I like calling it for what it is, and not what it's not. Being charitable is very easy for uber-reach people, it is only the effectiveness from money thrown that may raise questions sometimes - is it because they made a poor decision or they just didn't really care.

You do realize that Gates has donated over 30 billion dollars as of 2014 right? He's the one that invests the most in new technologies that help the world (energy, medical, etc) and he's helping countless charity organizations not just with money, but with organizing events. what do you want more from him? Did you really think he's just a retired old man who does nothing with the billions he has? At least do a bit of reading on what he works on now and what he did in the last decade with his money.
You have no right to criticize this man!

 

[Dukenukemx]

Bill should donate money towards SENS Research Foundation. They specialize in anti aging technology with contributes 2/3 of the worlds deaths. Cancer is a result of aging so is heart disease and Alzheimer's. Aubrey de Grey even knows how to cure most of these but needs funding.

GlycoSENS for example is a result of crosslinked proteins and they cured it with animals. The chemical they used was alagebrium which works, but not in humans. Turns out the proteins in humans are different. If they succeeded in humans then you would have cured heart disease, cataracts in the eyes, and diabetes. This is because GlycoSENS makes tissue less elastic.

Cancer is a result of the genes telomeres getting shorter due to damage. Our bodies repairs this damage but not indefinitely. Some animals never have this problem because they always repair the telomeres. Some people repair it better than others and this is why some people look older than others.

Turns out most of the damage we do to ourselves is a result of carcinogens and lack of proper nutrition. Anytime you burn meat and other foods beyond a certain point you get carcinogens. Look up people that are on the raw vegan diet that are 70 but look 30. Not saying you should all eat raw fruits and vegetables but it's the cooking of the food beyond a temperature that causes carcinogens which make you age and produce health problems, like cancer.

But no lets go spend money on third world countries. And Ebola vs Heart Disease and Heart Disease dwarfs Ebola.

 

[mailpup]

Bill should donate money towards SENS Research Foundation.

If that's the cause you donate money to, more power to you. IMHO, it's Bill's money so he can donate to whatever cause he wants just as no one should tell me or you who to donate to.

 

[Dukenukemx]

If that's the cause you donate money to, more power to you. IMHO, it's Bill's money so he can donate to whatever cause he wants just as no one should tell me or you who to donate to.

Didn't Bill have experts tell him where to spend that money? So I guess he can have them tell him what to do with his money?

 

[mailpup]

Even if Bill does have advisors, it's still his decision where to donate. You don't see the difference between advising and telling? In any case, why do you think you know better than anyone else where they should donate to?

 

[agb81]

But no lets go spend money on third world countries. And Ebola vs Heart Disease and Heart Disease dwarfs Ebola.

Well that's... I don't even... you're dismissing hundreds of millions of people in third world countries in favor of some millions that might already have access to some form of medicine to bear with their conditions. I just don't see how heart conditions dwarf infrahumane conditions of children and adults in lots of places.

It seems like Bill Gates wants a better world for everyone instead of a better quality of life for fewer ones.