More money for neglected diseases

As David noted in today's Morning Brief, billionaire Warren Buffett is donating a huge hunk of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on global health and education. In terms of global health, the Gates Foundation has spent a lot of money so far on the Big Three: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. At this afternoon's press conference, a reporter asked Buffett and the Gateses if they could be more specific about what programs the money will go to. Melinda Gates replied that although they hadn't worked out details yet, she anticipated that there would be a lot of funding for ailments further down on the list, including neglected diseases like kala azar or guinea worm. For a look at some of the work that doctors and researchers are already doing on neglected diseases with Gates Foundation funding, see Erika Check's Quest for the Cure, in the current issue of FP.