Gateses Assess TB-Related Projects in South Africa
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, on Monday visited a township in Cape Town, South Africa, to assess tuberculosis-related projects funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Cape Argus reports. The projects are run by the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation -- which in 2004 received an $82.9 million grant from the Gates Foundation to develop a new TB vaccine -- and the Consortium to Respond Effectively to the AIDS/TB Epidemic, which researches ways to control TB in communities with high HIV prevalence and has received $44.7 million from the Gates Foundation. Some of the field work for the two projects was conducted in the township of Khayelitsha, which the Gateses visited (Fortein, Cape Argus, 7/11). The Gateses also are scheduled this week to meet with local experts in South Africa who are testing microbicide gels -- which could protect women from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections -- and to visit an HIV/AIDS treatment site in Lesotho that receives support from the Clinton Foundation (Kahn, Business Day, 7/10).
Wall Street Journal Examines How Clinton, Gates Use Different Personalities, Strengths To Combat Global Health Issues
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined how Gates and former President Bill Clinton use their different personalities and strengths to further their global health efforts. Gates, as "the world's richest man" often eschews working with governments and prefers to fund not-for-profit partnerships directly rather than through politicians, according to the Journal. Clinton is "skilled in the art of negotiation" and possesses a "charm and diplomacy," which are "valuable assets" in brining together governments, advocates and the drug industry, the Journal reports. He often works "hand in glove with host governments, even occupying office space inside ministry offices," according to the Journal. Although Clinton and Gates have not established an official collaboration, their "budding partnership is a potential synergy between two leading figures in the new breed of philanthropists," the Journal reports. Clinton and Gates have only recently began joining forces, but "the spate of joint public appearances reflects a more intense level of engagement aimed at bringing maximum attention to their cause," according to the Journal. The two men plan to make "their highest-profile joint appearance yet" when they speak at the XVI International AIDS Conference scheduled for next month in Toronto, the Journal reports (Chase, Wall Street Journal, 7/11).
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