The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Announces New HIV/AIDS Grants at World AIDS Conference

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BILL&MELINDA
GATES foundation
Contact:
Annemarie Hou Joe Cerrell
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation APCO Worldwide
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E-mail: Annemarie)"gatesfoutndation.org E-mail: icerrel(aapcoassoc.comn
Trevor Neilson
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
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Pager: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
7.12.00
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Announces New HIV/AIDS Grants at World
AIDS Conference
Microbicides, Mother to Child Transmissions, AIDS Orphans, Palliative Care, and a
Comprehensive Partnership in Botswana are the Focus of New Round of Gifts
Durban, South Africa- At the AIDS 2000 Conference today, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
announced a series of new AIDS-related grants designed to take a comprehensive approach to the
HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The new grants total more than $90 million. Grants will focus on decreasing the rate of new infections in
Africa through programs that will develop microbicides for women and increase access to medications to
reduce rates of maternal-child transmission. Other programs will train people in palliative care and provide
resources to children orphaned by AIDS.
The new grants announced in Durban build upon earlier funding of AIDS-related organizations, such as the
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), one of the Foundation's first major AIDS grantees. IAVI
received $25 million in 1998 to boost the research effort toward discovering a vaccine for HIV/AIDS.
Supporting organizations working in the area of AIDS research and prevention is a priority of the
Foundation's global health program.
"If governments, UN agencies, businesses and foundations work together we can stop AIDS," said Patty
Stonesifer, Co-Chair and President of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We are pleased to see new
partnerships and collaboration emerge from Durban, and look forward to the progress that will result."
The Foundation also announced a new partnership with the Republic of Botswana and Merck & Co. The
goal of this initiative is to improve the overall state of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in
Botswana.
"As the Foundation continues to develop its AIDS strategy, we are partnering with organizations that are at
the forefront of responding to the critical needs of individuals and communities suffering from HIV/AIDS,"
said Gordon Perkin, MD, Executive Director of the Foundation's Global Health Programs.
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