Gates grants $500 million for AIDS care

The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation took its support of AIDS-related
research and care to a new level Wednesday, announcing a
half-billion-dollar grant to a global fund that provides
AIDS assistance in poor countries.

The Geneva,
Switzerland–based Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis, and Malaria will receive the grant over
five years.

The gift dwarfs
the $150 million the Microsoft founder’s foundation
has given since the fund was created four years ago as
well as the additional $287 million Gates
announced last month to speed development of an HIV
vaccine.

“The
Global Fund is one of the most important health initiatives
in the world today,” Bill Gates said in a
statement announcing the gift. “The fund has an
excellent track record, and we need to do everything we can
to support its continued success, which will save millions
of lives.”

The announcement
comes as nearly 25,000 scientists, advocates, and
policymakers prepare to meet in Toronto this weekend for the
International AIDS Conference. (AP)