The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged half a billion dollars to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria, the fund announced on Wednesday.
The promise came in the run-up to the 16th International Aids Conference, opening in the Canadian city of Toronto on Sunday.
The money will be paid in five annual amounts of $100-million, with 2006 as the starting year.
“The Global Fund is one of the most important health initiatives in the world today,” Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, was quoted in a fund press release as saying.
“The fund has an excellent track record and we need to do everything we can to support its continued success, which will save millions of lives.” — AFP