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Gates Foundation Plans To Invest $10B Into Vaccines

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the finally-gates-gets-good-anti-virus dept.

Endloser writes "Bill Gates is going to invest $10 billion to provide vaccines to people worldwide. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation believes that vaccines are the way to a better future for the world. So they have decided to make 'the largest pledge ever made by a charitable foundation to a single cause.' This 10-year, 10 billion dollar project is expected to save 8.7 million lives."

5 of 477 comments (clear)

  1. Birth Control by markdavis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The "way to a better future for the world" is birth control and education. Don't want to sound cold, but the places with the most human suffering are also the areas with the worst overpopulation vs. the least natural resources. I would hope this component would be very high on the list of any type of aid when addressing suffering and helping to stop the perpetuation of suffering.

    1. Re:Birth Control by qbzzt · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A population of old people supported by a few young workers isn't going to be particularly viable either. It's a balancing act.

      --
      -- Support a free market in the field of government
    2. Re:Birth Control by Lord+Ender · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Your personal disagreement doesn't count for squat. This foundation is not just shooting the shit on the internet to decide what to do. They have Mr. Gates' and Mr. Buffett's personal fortunes going into analyzing how to do the most good in the world.

      Furthermore, your comprehension of economics seems to be rather inadequate. It's not like there are X jobs in the world, and if you have more than X people the rest are unemployed. It's not like the number of jobs is directly bound by the amount of farmland. In the developed world, an insignificant fraction of the population works in farming these days.

      The European economy did not boom during the plague. It's just daft that you are suggesting as much.

      A healthy population can build an economy and become a wealthy population. A sick population can't. It's that simple.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    3. Re:Birth Control by Jherico · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think you underestimate the compulsion to accept hardship as a consequence of reproduction.

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      Jherico

      What can the average user can do to ensure his security? "Nothing, you're screwed"

  2. $10B, 8.7M lives saved = $1149 per life by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think $1149 worth of primary care medicine or even plain old sanitation in underdeveloped places could save a hell of a lot more lives than that.