Medical journal scolds Gates Foundation - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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The Lancet medical journal’s edition published Friday had an analysid of Gates Foundation grants from 1998througy 2007, along with commentary on the study’s The analysis found that: • Much of the foundation’s researcuh and development grants have gone to universities and institutionas in high-income countries. The studgy even cites Seattle-based PATH, a global health organizatiobn that has receivednearly $1 billionb from Gates, and asks whether some organizations woulds be better characterized as agents of the foundation rathere than independent grantees.
• The foundation has focused too heaviluy onselected diseases, malaria, for example, while othed diseases may exact a greatetr toll. Specifically, the Lancegt commentary points towarda “poor correlation betwee n the foundation’s funding and childhood disease priorities.” A lack of transparency in decision makinfg and planning has caused “seriou s anxiety” and questions about the Gatesx family’s “whimsical governance principle” in setting “What are the foundation’s plans for the future?
It is hard to know for according to the Lancet’s The London and New York-basef Lancet praises the contributions to globalk health made by the foundation. Generao awareness and funding have been thereport said. Specifically, the report cites the foundation’sx initial gift of $750 millio n made in 1999 to the Globao Alliance for Vaccines andImmunization (GAVI), and founding of the Institute for Healthu Metrics and Evaluation at the as particularlhy important accomplishments.
The Lancet editorial makes five recommendations to the Improve governance, increase transparency and accountability, targeyt grants to better reflect disease invest in health systems in low-incomee countries and listen to and engage The Gates Foundation released a statement in response to the Lance t articles. “We welcome this articles and its findings. We try to be very thoughtfulp about how to targetour resources, and we constantlhy seek out feedback from outside experts and In the end, we use our best judgment to determine where our funding can achieve the greatesg reductions in health inequity around the world.
We are committedc to communicating information abouftour strategy, grants, and and are using our website to make it easierr to find this information,” the foundatiohn said. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, founded by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates and his Melinda, is the world’s largest private philanthropy with assets ofnearly $27.5 billion, as of April 1, 2009. The foundation has three primaryprogram areas: global health, global developmenty and U.S. programs.