A simple shot – administered in a moment – can offer a lifetime of immunity to deadly diseases. The miracle of vaccines is something that most Americans take for granted. Most American children are offered protection against hepatitis, diphtheria, and other ailments by the time they turn two. Children in other countries are not so lucky.
World Vision International reports nearly 10 million children and mothers die each year from avoidable causes such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria because of a lack of global access to vaccines.
Bill and Melinda Gates hope to help change that statistic in 2010. Calling for a "new decade of vaccines," the Gates Foundation announced that it will spend $10 billion over the next 10 years for the development and delivery of vaccines to impoverished people worldwide.
"We’ve made vaccines our number one priority at the Gates foundation because we’ve seen firsthand their incredible impact on children’s lives," said Mrs. Gates.
Vaccines have long been one of the focuses of the Gates Foundation’s global initiatives. In the past decade, the Gates gave more than $4.5 billion to vaccination work. The Gates’ past vaccine grants have successfully assisted in the vaccination of more than 250 million children worldwide, preventing an estimated 5 million deaths.
Still, their current investment is the largest pledge ever made toward vaccination efforts, not to mention the largest pledge.
The money will be used to support a variety of projects including research on how to effectively get life-saving vaccines to people in remote parts of the world.
Mr. Gates said scientific innovations are needed to achieve the desired drop in child mortality rates.
"Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries," he said. "Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before."