The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation delivered on a $450 million promise to improve on the state of world health by awarding grants to the most innovative medical solutions presented by the world’s top scientists.

In 2003, the foundation set up a contest to generate “blue-sky thinking,” providing a channel for out-of-the-box innovations in medicine to address the so-called “10:90 gap.” The 10/90 gap refers to a vast discrepancy in medical spending where only 10% of health funding addresses 90% of the world’s health issues regarding the poorest world citizens in the least healthy circumstances.

Diseases that don’t affect develop nations are often ignored though half to two-thirds of world in developing nations endless struggle with them.

The contest motivated scientists to identify the major obstacles to improving health and then find ways to defeat them.

Forty-three projects received funding to address the 14 identified challenges chosen from over 1000 suggestions from scientists worldwide. The most promising among them include creating vaccines that don’t require needles, refrigeration or doses; genetically engineering mosquitoes and other insects to prevent them from spreading diseases like malaria and dengue fever; early treatment of tuberculosis; and fighting the resistance that bacteria develop to drugs.

A range of diseases are being addressed from HIV to whooping cough and various inoculation methods are being investigated as well. Vaccinations delivered through needles can cause infection if the needles are not sterilized. Many of the projects are working toward vaccines delivered orally to cut down on this risk.

Bill Gates said it was shocking how little research is devoted to the diseases of the poorest countries. The measures are extremely optimistic and are being joined by other entities like the Wellcome Trust of UK and the Canadian Institutes of Health, who have added millions to the pot.

Amazing what a little money can do. It seems to bring in even more money. What they do with the money will be the key. As long as they are not top heavy they should be ok in finding ways to help the poorer nations.

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