£2.5 Billion To Wipe Out Malaria Announced In Liverpool
Bill Gates and George Osborne have pledged to spend £2.5 billion to completely eradicate malaria.
George Osborne will join forces with billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates in the fight against malaria by pledging £2.5 billion to tackle the killer disease.
The Chancellor and the Microsoft founder made the announcement at Liverpool’s School of Tropical Medicine this morning (Monday 25th January) where they got to see pioneering research being carried out.
Roughly £500 million a year will be allocated from Britain's international development budget and the Gates Foundation will spend £140 million a year on research into the disease.
Malaria is mainly spread by mosquitoes and is believed to kill one child a minute.
The pair said; We are optimistic that in our lifetimes we can eradicate malaria and other deadly tropical diseases, and confront emerging threats, making the world a safer place for all.''
In the world's poorest places, malaria is both a cause and a consequence of poverty. It costs Africa, where poverty is already high, billions of pounds each year in lost productivity, and it accounts for up to 40% of public health expenditure in high burden countries,'' they added.
The world has cut the number of malaria deaths in half in the past 15 years. We are confident that this is a war we can win.
With its world-class universities, pharmaceutical companies and strong support at the national level, the UK leads innovation to improve the health and well-being of millions.''