Lancet study details Gates’ Global Health Influence

May 12, 2009 by gblewis81

A study published this month in the Lancet has assessed the grants given out by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It found that, in total, $8.949 Billion was given out in the ten year period from 1998-2007, with over a third (36.5%) going towards research and development of vaccines, microbicides and drugs and nearly a quarter (24.1%) going towards health- -care delivery.

While commending this huge investment, the paper and accompanying comment emphasises the need for the accountability of this huge private donor. One of the key findings was the large amounts of funding given to key ‘Global Health Partners’, including the WHO, the World Bank and GAVI. Over a third of funding was donated to not-for-profit (NFP) or Non-governmental organizations (NGO) other than these. With this kind of influence over the flow of funding for Global Health problems, the authors feel it is necessary for some kind of public accountability

An accompanying comment notes that the organisation’s goal of reducing the burden of maternal and child health by half in the next twenty years is being held back by a lack of evidence-based priorities. Research into the implementation of current interventions, along with diseases that cause a large proportion of child mortality such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, are relatively under-funded in relation to their importance in reducing mortality. It is suggested that a shift to these neglected diseases and delivery research will strengthen the impact the organization has already made.
 

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