Gates Foundation launches 3rd initiative in China

[Coventina]

Source: Seattle Times

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is launching its third major initiative in China, a $33 million partnership with the Chinese government to fight an epidemic of tuberculosis and stem the spread of drug-resistant strains.

Bill Gates made the announcement in Beijing today at a meeting of health ministers from the nations hardest hit by TB infections that defy conventional treatment.

The new program aims to show that with better diagnosis, streamlined treatment regimens and improved patient monitoring, China can control a disease that currently afflicts 4.5 million of its people and kills more than 200,000 a year.

Effective treatment of ordinary tuberculosis is also the key to slowing the evolution of drug-resistant strains, including multidrug-resistant, or MDR, TB, Gates said.



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