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Gates Donates $500M+ To Fight Malaria and Other Diseases

Posted by samzenpus on from the end-the-suffering dept.

jones_supa writes In the 63rd annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in New Orleans, Bill Gates announced that he will donate over $500 million to fight malaria and other infectious diseases in the developing world. Gates described the Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 4,900 people in West Africa since the beginning of the year as a "critical moment in the history of global health", and said it underscores the need for stronger efforts to stay ahead of disease threats such as drug-resistant malaria and dengue fever. The more than $500 million announced Sunday includes over $150 million to the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative to advance development of next-generation malaria vaccines, and $29 million to the Clinton Health Access Initiative to support malaria elimination efforts in Southern Africa and the Greater Mekong Sub-region of Southeast Asia.

9 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. How long will it take slashdot to spin this? by NotDrWho · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How many posts until someone finds a way to still hate on him, despite the fact that he's done more for the poor than all of us put together?

    How many Apple fans will make fun of him, in spite of the fact that Steve Jobs never gave a dime to charity?

    How many of you will take a potshot at Microsoft, even though Bill hasn't worked there in years?

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    1. Re:How long will it take slashdot to spin this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Your comment paints all people with your brush...

      Many people with a lot less money do much more than Bill Gates to help the poor, every day in communities all
      over the earth...people who give their time and materials without a thought of recompense or worrying
      about honor and glory, these people do not make announcements, or have publicity teams, they make a real
      personal difference in other's lives.

      Gates and his ilk may give money, it may even do some good, but it is the day to day work
      of the unsung hero that actually makes a difference.

      You may do nothing but I know of many who care every day. Instead of worrying about
      Bill's reputation, and complaining about his detractors, maybe you should try helping someone else.

    2. Re:How long will it take slashdot to spin this? by nine-times · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How many posts until someone finds a way to still hate on him, despite the fact that he's done more for the poor than all of us put together?

      I don't know the man personally, but I don't see why doing something good should remove anyone's right to have some level of "hate" for the man. Setting aside the particular example of Mr. Gates, does it seem fair to say,"[Person X] has done a good thing. Therefore, nobody can dislike him or object to anything else he does!"

      How many Apple fans will make fun of him, in spite of the fact that Steve Jobs never gave a dime to charity?

      I'm not sure why the those things should be connected, or how you can be so sure that Jobs "never gave a dime to charity". There's been at least a couple reports that Jobs did give money to charity, but didn't publicize the fact because he was very private.

      But again, what does that have to do with anything? I'm sure there fans of Apple who are not huge fans of Jobs personally. I'm sure there are people who admire Jobs who also admire Gates. I'm sure there are Windows users who hate Gates.

      How many of you will take a potshot at Microsoft, even though Bill hasn't worked there in years?

      Ok, I'll do this. I'm annoyed at Microsoft because they still haven't included support for non-Microsoft file-systems. Microsoft sucks!

      Now what? Have I offended you by criticizing the company connected to The Great Gates?

    3. Re:How long will it take slashdot to spin this? by arbiter1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      wow 10's of millions, from a guy that made billions off over priced devices. Pretty freaking cheap of them to only donate that pocket change.

    4. Re:How long will it take slashdot to spin this? by MozeeToby · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Setting aside the particular example of Mr. Gates, does it seem fair to say,"[Person X] has done a good thing. Therefore, nobody can dislike him or object to anything else he does!"

      No, but if there's a conversation going on about said "good thing" it is a little unreasonable for people to jump in the middle of it to shout "Yeah but he did this bad thing 15 years ago!". Yes, Gates did bad stuff. There are plenty of articles on Slashdot about the bad stuff that he's done (and that his legacy continues to contribute to). This isn't one of those articles. Couldn't we just take a minute to say "Mr Gates is doing something worthwhile with his money".

    5. Re:How long will it take slashdot to spin this? by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 2, Insightful

      wow 10's of millions, from a guy that made billions off over priced devices. Pretty freaking cheap of them to only donate that pocket change.

      Just because you guys hate Apple products it doesn't mean that you get to crap all over the some person's memory without being called out for being petty hateful trolls you are. I'll gladly burn karma to do that. He said, and I quote: "Steve Jobs never gave a dime to charity" which is demonstrably wrong no matter how you try to spin it. secondly how lazy do you have to be to not do a simple google search before making a stupid statement like that? ... and then he gets modded +5 insightful to boot... slashdot at it's finest!

      --
      Only to idiots, are orders laws.
      -- Henning von Tresckow
    6. Re:How long will it take slashdot to spin this? by the+gnat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      All he does is pushing corporate interests

      What corporate interests are involved in curing malaria? The entire reason that Bill Gates is subsidizing these efforts is that there isn't much financial incentive for Big Pharma to develop drugs for diseases that primarily afflict people in Third World nations.

    7. Re:How long will it take slashdot to spin this? by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Bill Gates is a robber baron who made his money through despicable behavior and monopolism. Now he's buying his way to respectability and people like you are fooled by it. Just look at how you view the names of cruel tyrants like Rockefeller and Carnegie.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  2. It's all in the percentages ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    First I think it's commendable that he is giving back. Fortune has been kind to him and it is only appropriate that he reciprocate in some small way.

    By small I might point out that Forbes lists his net worth as $76B for 2014(1). So that $500M donation is roughly equivalent to 0.7% of his net worth. To put his donation in a more realistic perspective it is equivalent to someone of median net worth(2) donating $310. Hardly worth lionizing the man over IMHO.

    1. http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mel45hdjl/1-bill-gates/
    2. http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/11/news/economy/middle-class-wealth/